Second Chance
by Shen's General
Summary: Redemption and second chances are two of many things sought by many people. When a old crush of Master Crane is kidnapped by a new threat, he is forced to enlist the help of someone he thought was long gone, who is looking for his own path. CxML, ShenxOC, Minor PxT, Minor ShifuxSs, features OC from Synchronized Harmony.
1. If Only

**Kung Fu Panda**

**'****_Second Chance_****'**

**by Shen's General**

**A/N: Hello there, KFP fans, in case you don't know who I am, I am Shen's General, best known for his first fanfic Between Brothers, critically acclaimed best fanfic in the archive of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (or as said by my friend TearfulFriend18). Between Brothers is still being worked on, but to help get reinspired, I decided to get started on my first KFP chapter fanfic, starring none other than Lord Shen (come on, I am his GENERAL, you should had seen that coming.) and Master Crane (My second favorite). This story came to me when I was discussing possible fanfics to collaborate with Master Crane (the author), and I thought of how awesome it would be once I got started on it. In fact, I got an entire series planned out. But enough about that...now we shall dive into my proposed sequels to Kung Fu Panda, where there is badassery, awesomeness, with a great spice of romance to be had! HERE WE GO...after these disclaimers:**

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda, wished I did, but I don't.**

**I would like to dedicate the first chapter to all my favorite KFP authors out there, such as Master Crane, synchronized harmony, Simba593, jjhatter, Classic Cowboy and everyone else that I might have miss.**

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Prologue: If Only

'_Long ago, in ancient China, there was once a great city known as Gongmen City, once ruled by the great peacock clan, which had brought great joy and prosperity to the city for many years, courtesy of their rulers Lord Ti'Phan and Lady Mei Lin, whose grace and kindness became known throughout all of China, for they had brought upon a great invention that would go on to change the course of history forever...fireworks, created through the manipulation of fire and gunpowder into something wonderful and beautiful..._'

'_However, behind every great invention lied a dark side, a potential that could bring upon darkness and devastation...such a potential that was discovered by none other than Shen...or many of you may know as Lord Shen. Shen was the son of Ti'Phan and Mei Lin, and the prince of Gongmen City at the said time. This boy was special, as instead of inheriting either of his parent's color, he was born as a color of snow itself and with eyes of the purest blood. However, this color was interpreted as a bad omen by many, his own parents included, and after the young peacock had found fireworks' offensive capacity, they feared the worst of what would become of their son. Concerned deeply, they had consulted yours truly, I, the soothsayer, but to prevent confusion with any subsequent people of my position, you may call me Ama. In attempt to sooth their anxiety, I foretold in a prophecy that if the young prince were to continue down this path strifed with darkness and agony, a warrior of black and white would rise up and defeat him...but I had not known that Shen had overheard this ill-fated prophecy. The boy, his heart already succumbing to the darkness, was determinated to not let this fate befall him...and what he done next...I say with a heavy heart...'_

'_Not far from the city of Gongmen, there lied a peaceful panda village, which served as a export for farming goods for the city, a place that spoke and heard of no evil...but to Shen, he saw them as a threat to his life...with an army of wolves behind him, he razed the village, full bent on eliminating anything of black and white that could possibly end his life in the future. Within a matter of hours, the village was reduced to ashes, no survivors were found. Proud of himself, believing that he had defied fate, he returned home triumphant, hoping that his parents, whose attention he had long sought for, who finally find worthy of carrying on their lineage...but instead...they were mortified by their young one's horrific actions. Faced with no choice that could result in the better good for all of them, the peacock rulers banished their only kin, cut him off of all royal ties, and sent him along with the wolves he had led in the massacre into exile for all eternity. Shen was outraged, of course, but he sworn vengeance, promised that he would return and claim what was rightfully his, disownment or not, and nothing...__**nothing**__...would stand in his way._'

'_And sure enough, thirty years later, Lord Shen returned to the Tower of Sacred Flames, but with him, he brought a powerful weapon, the offensive capacity of the fireworks I had mentioned before, and with it, he had not only reclaimed control over his home, he had taken the life of one of the three masters, Master Thundering Rhino, that had stewardship over the tower since his parents' death not long after his exile, and soon enough, he was going to lead a conquest that would destroy all of China. However, the prophecy, the one I regretted foretelling to this day, had not changed, for there was a survivor from the village that Shen had decimated, a panda known as Po..._'

'_Having been hidden in a radish crate by his mother before her death, the young panda was shipped away to a faraway place known as the Valley of Peace, where he was cared for by a goose who owned a noodle shop. In the course of the thirty years Shen was in exile, the young child grew into a man who cherished one thing…kung fu, his idols being the Valley's protectors, the Furious Five, and dreamt of a day where he would become one of them and joins them on, as he would put it, 'awesome' quests and adventures. One day, however, that dream became a reality, for Grandmaster Oogway was to choose one of the Five to be the Dragon Warrior, a warrior of great strength and honor. As if through fate, and a bit of help from the inventions the peacock rulers had invented, Po was chosen, much to everyone's shock, to be the warrior. The other warriors and their master Shifu did not believe this, and had attempted to break his resolve, but the panda refused to give in. It was not till when Tai Lung, Shifu's first student, not to mentioned adopted son, corrupted with dark power much like Shen, broke free out of his prison that the red panda realized that it was Po's destiny to defeat him. After many weeks of training, and discovering the secret behind the Dragon Scroll, the Dragon Warrior's key to unlimited power, the panda confronted the snow leopard, and after a great battle was fought, Po had triumphed over him, and was declared a hero to the valley._'

'_Years later, upon hearing news of Thundering Rhino's death, Po and his friends venture to Gongmen City to bring Lord Shen to justice. But they were captured almost instantaneously, and were brought to the tower where they first met Shen. The peacock, upon sight of the panda, immediately scoffed at the prophecy that was foretold, not believing that a panda of his…'girth' could pose a threat upon him, even though he had so much time to 'plot his revenge'. But Po did not know of the acts Shen had done to his village, in fact, he did not know that his father (a goose, mind you) was not his father shortly before heading off to Gongmen. It was then, through a constant chain of events that Po and his friends were able to escape the tower as it got shot down by Shen's weapons, but not before Po learned of his involvement in his past. In search of answers, despite the order to stay behind by his concerned friends, Po confronted Shen in the factory, where the peacock, whose mind was demented by the darkness, toyed with his mind like a plaything, and blasted him with a cannon._'

'_Po would had perished in that blast, had I not intervened and treated him in the remnants of the village he once called home. It was not till then that I told Po to embrace his past that he was finally able to remember what had happened that night and was able to attain inner peace. Hours later, Po returned to Gongmen City, just when Shen was ready to begin his ultimate quest for dominance, and not willing to let Shen win, he freed his friends, and allied by the two remaining masters and their master Shifu, the group of heroes fought valiantly against Shen's fleet, to a point where it would seem that they would win…but the lord, growing desperate with fear, was not willing to go down, and blinded by his fear and hate, he even struck down his commander, the one you know as the Wolf Boss, who refused to fire on his own pack, as the peacock took matters into his own hands and unleashed his weapon upon them…_'

'_The blast had a great effect, for his fleets were now out to harbor, and the warriors were scattered…and all that remained in the lord's path was Po. Shen, believing that he had won, was ready to finish what he had begun, as he had his men fired at the panda, all set on smiting him off the face of the world…but then, something amazing had happened. By utilizing his inner peace, Po was able to capture the burning orbs that were launched at him and were able to redirect them, leaving all except his paws unscathed. Horrified, Shen ordered more attacks upon the panda, but his weapons were moving no match for him, as the panda took cannonballs after cannonballs, catching them and throwing them back at his fleet, destroying them with their own weapon…and it was not till Shen unleashed his own cannon's ammunitions that Po finally redirected his own invention right at him, once and for all putting an end to his insane designs._'

'_Shen, distraught by his defeat, could not help but wonder how he had failed, as he asked the panda, who confronted him, not out to seek vengeance but to offer solace, how he was able to find peace, given how he was the one who took everything away from him…and the panda just answered that scars heal (despite how politically incorrect that would be) and that he should let go of the past and focus on the present. Unfortunately, despite all that had happen, his darkness still claimed ownership over his heart, and with the last of his strength, the peacock fought against the panda, his only focus on ending what he though was the source of his pain, so focused that he did not notice himself severing the ropes that held what remained of his own creation, and before he realized what he had done, the cannon began to descend upon the ship…and in that moment, the peacock accepted his fate that he worked so hard to prevent, and the cannon crashed down onto the ship…_'

'_With Shen gone, Gongmen City and China were now saved, our panda Po had found inner peace in himself, and even went on to reconcile with his adoptive father, and all was well in the world…but alas, this was not the end of the tale…for when I foretold the prophecy, I stated clearly that Shen would be defeated by a warrior of black and white…and may I remind you, there lied a great difference between defeat and death. Now that I had told you of the tale thus far, I shall now tell you a brand new tale…a story of love forgotten, new darkness uprising, friend and foe uniting, and ultimately, a story of __**redemption**__…_'

Somewhere far up in the mountains, location unknown, there lied a hut, built into one of the great peaks' faces, plaid and simple, something that would not be worth noting, for inside the house, there are shelves stocked with items of medicinal value, and foods that were imperishable. Aside from these simple pantry items, the place itself was nothing special…with the exception of the resident that resided in this abode. In the middle of the house, sitting a meditative position was an elderly goat, draped in many clothing, with a walking staff to her left, and a bowl right in front of her, her eyes closed as if she was deep in concentration.

Her name was Ama, although many had called her the soothsayer, and a pretty good one at that. But it was not her skills as a soothsayer that had defined her; it was the fact that she once served as a caretaker for Gongmen City's rulers' son, Lord Shen. Concerned with Shen's well being when he was first born, they feared that if they were to grow attached to the child, he would succumb to his illness and break their hearts…so they turn to Ama, who was the court's soothsayer at the time, who unlike them, fell in love with the child, and requested that she take care of him. Although she was hesitant of the fact that they wouldn't want to care for their child, she could not help but agree. So for many years up till the ones leading to his exile, she was like a second mother to him, caring for him when he fell ill, scolded him if he misbehaved, and giving him the love that a child deserved. Unfortunately, the goat knew that her love could not replace the kind of love that Shen needed…from his own parents. The boy tried nearly everything to make himself heard and worthy of his parents' attention, and when that did not work, he worked hard to prove himself to them, be it kung fu (courtesy of Master Rhino, Ox, and Croc, who had served at the tower before his birth) or fireworks…but his efforts were all in vain.

Eventually, he stopped trying to prove himself to them and tried to make them see themselves that he was capable of carrying on their legacy…and his attempt leaded him to experiment with the fireworks his parents created, and before anyone knew it, he became obsessed with making such a joyous creation into a weapon of militaristic design that he believed would make them a stronger country, and would finally make them proud of him…unfortunately, his parents instead saw something dark growing in him, and their fear for him grew alongside it.

Ama sadly remembered when she was summoned into the parent's chamber, and asking her what was to become of their son. Admittedly, she too was deeply concerned for her child, especially how distant he had grown with her. So, with a feather she kept from Shen and few assorted powder, she looked into her clay bowl, and saw a image of a white peacock, surrounded by haze and smoke, rising over China, and then it swirling into the universal symbol of yin and yang…the message becoming clear in her mind:

"_The peacock, if he is to continue down his path of darkness, shall be defeated by a warrior of black and white._"

Of all the ill-fated prophecies she had foretold over the years, this was the one she regretted ever telling the most. For because Shen had overheard her telling his parents of this message, and because of that, he went off and committed genocide and was exiled forever. This prophecy was the cause of pain for not only her, but Shen's parents, all the pandas that lived in the village, and most importantly for Shen…whose one desire was to finally be accepted in the eyes of his parents, twisted by his hate, anger, and agony. Even more so, this prophecy was what led Shen back to Gongmen City thirty years later, with his weapons in tow, what led to Master Rhino's death, the desecration of his parents' memories as he shot his ancestral home to the ground…and it was what ultimately led Shen to his death.

The soothsayer knew that when he died, that he would find the peace he ultimately deserved, and she was happy for that…at least, she was. Despite all his selfish actions, she loved the peacock dearly as if he was one of her own, and she herself believed that he did not deserve death, for she knew in her heart, that he was not evil…confused maybe, but not evil. But what she thought and believed did not change fact; Shen was dead, crushed under his own creation, the image of Shen accepting death as the cannon fell atop him running through her mind. If only she could hold him once more…if only had she was able to steer him from the path of darkness…if only had she not told that _damned_ prophecy-

Ama's eyes immediately darted open as she felt a shiver throughout her body. Whenever a soothsayer felt a shiver within their body, it was portrayed as a sign from the gods, asking them to tell a prophecy, be it for someone or for the soothsayer him or her self. But this feeling…it caught her deeply by surprise, as if the gods had a very important message to tell her right now…not wasting time, the soothsayer immediately pulled out some of her powder she kept in her bag and placed it into her seeing bowl, and as a result of the catalyst, smoke began to billow from the clay bowl, as it prepare to reveal to the beholder it's message…

At first she saw nothing…but then, in a sense of déjà vu, an imagery of China and a peacock appeared above it…

"Shen?" Ama whispered, her shock present in her voice, "But how-?"

Before she could ask, the white peacock's colors immediately faded into black, the peacock's red eyes becoming a brilliant gold, and then it let out a vicious caw, as metallic sounds began emanating all around the room, and what seemed to look like chains began to shoot upwards around the peacock…

"What in gods' name?" The soothsayer said, dumbfounded and anxiety building up in her body at the vision.

But suddenly, two other figures sprouted out of the smokes, both of them of the color white, and both of them were of the avian family. Their wings spread as they began spiraling all around the black peacock, cutting through the smoke-like chains, closing in on the dark figure in the middle at a increasing rate of speed, and when they finally met, a sudden burst of light was created, blinding the soothsayer for a moment. As soon as the goat's eyes recovered, the vision had disappeared, with no traces of smoke anywhere. Then, as usual upon telling a fortune, a voice whispered in her mind, but there was something...awfully peculiar about it:

'_Darkness shall rise...chains of oblivion spreading wide...two sides of morality unite...with wings of the holiest flames, there shall be __**redemption**__..._'

Ama was baffled, in her career as the soothsayer, she had never heard the voice sound so...mysterious, even more so than usual, and the way it spoke. But that was a question that she would consider later, for there were many more questions pertaining to the prophecy...who was that peacock that she once thought was Shen? What were with those chains? And more importantly, who were the two white birds within the vision? Never in her life as she ever recieved a message that seemed so encrypted. In fact, the only words she understood in that sentence was 'darkness shall rise', but all it did was made her more anxious, was China in trouble once more? She pondered it even more, as she cited the words, 'two sides of morality unite...' Morality, the differentation between good and evil...was what it saying? That good and evil will be joining together? That doesn't seem to make such sense. Deciding that part was a dead end, the soothsayer then thought of the last few words... 'With wings of the holiest flames, there shall be redemption.'

Upon uttering those words in her mind, she recalled the two birds circling the dark peacock in the middle...it would not take the thinking of a intelligent man to figure that the 'wings' were referring to those two beings...but what did they mean by 'there shall be redemption'? Who is it that need redeeming? Ama let out a frustrated groan, so many questions she had, and she could only answer a few of them...

Suddenly, a strong breeze blew through the rafters of the hut, prompting the goat to shiver once more in a natural manner, winds up where she lived were common, slicing through the air and anyone in the vicnity like knife through butter. However, given how she was related to the mountain goat family, it was natural to her...but due to her old age, the cold air still stung. Another gust of wind blew threw throughout the house, much stronger than the previous one, so strong in fact that it blew one of the patched-up window open.

"Oh dear..." The soothsayer sighed, as she quickly got to her feet (well quickish, her age impeding her movements), and immediately worked to seal up the window once more. It was only a few moments later that the elderly goat had succeeded in her task, letting out an exhale of exhaustion. She then turned to the center of the room, hoping to find answers to her perturbing vision through meditation, but before she could take a step forward, her eyes saw something...something that immediately illuminated most of her prophecy and reigniting her hope, as she felt tears struck her eyes...

What it was that she had seen was nothing on a grand scale, but possessed a value far greater than all the riches in the world...the object of such value is nothing more than a feather...of black, red, and white...

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**A/N: ...Geez, that has to be the slowest chapter I had ever written for a story ever. Well, anywho, there you have it, the first chapter of Second Chance. For any questions that may arise, Shen and Crane will be in this story...eventually. For this story, I am going to try and make my chapters of short to below average length so I can update more frequently on this one. As for the Soothsayer's name, Ama, according to KFP-DW1 (His story is good by the way), that is her official name according to the art gallery found on the Kung Fu Panda 2 DVD, so I am going with it. Also, I used Shens' parents' name from Synchronized Harmony's story series, and as you can tell from the summary, I will include a character from his series as well (Who will it be will be revealed next chapter). Anywho, I hope this first chapter was good, and I hope you will READ/REVIEW/FAVE/FOLLOW IT upon reading it. So...again, READ AND REVIEW!**

**NOTE: If you are interested in a KFP M-Rated oneshot, I had written one of Crane and Mei Ling, which is actually the very first lemon of those two...ever. I would deeply appreciate it if you were to come by and read it, that you will leave a review, I cannot emphasize that enough!**

**NOTE II: There will be a forum set up, meant for discussing this story and all future ones for my series, which I dub 'The Wings of White Flame Saga'. If you have questions, predictions, or comments (that you didn't put in your reviews of course) about anything, be sure to post!**

**Artworks stuff is appreciated, deeply appreciated.**


	2. The First Link In The Chain

**A/N: OK...now we begin the second chapter, where the action does actually pick up in this one. Prepare for OCs! Also, this story will have swearing in it, but if it bothers you, I can make adjustments.**

**REPLY REPONSES:**

**sonicfighter21354: **I am glad that you are excited. I don't know for certain if the ghosts of Shen's parents will have any place in this story, they will certainly appear in flashbacks, but possibly nothing more.

**ExplodedPotato: **I will, and I am glad that you took a interest in LotG and sorry that you have forgotten. Between Brothers will survive…it's just a matter of getting there.

**Saxxy: **Thank you. I had already reviewed your first chapter. Not bad…but there is certainly room for improvement.

**Animation Universe 2005: **Thank you, I try. =)

**jjhatter: **Thanks! The poetic in the last chapter was unintentional, I assure you, but thanks either way. Sorry about that headache, though. :(

**Crazybird101: **I agree with you, everyone deserves a second chance. LOL on your review.

**Synchronized Harmony: **Indeed I did. And I do agree, some of the Shen fanfiction on this site had been less than satisfactory as of late. Either choppy, too short, or not a lick of sense made. But at least there are other good Shen fics to counteract it.

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda, wished I did, but I don't.**

**I do own the OCs set to appear in this chapter**

**Synchronized Harmony owns the OC that will appear in this chapter**

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Chapter One: The First Link In The Chain

Meanwhile, somewhere far away from where our elderly goat friend resided, there lied a well-guarded yet ancient fort, built atop a cliff of one of the many mountain passes found throughout China. This fort in question is not technically a fort, but it was an academy, a place of learning and aspiring kung fu fighters. This academy in particular was called the Lee Dai Academy, one of most prestigious one at that. Only a collected few had ever made it into the academy, while even fewer had ever graduated and went on to greener pastures, mostly because it was also the most rigorous and difficult kung fu school around, difficulty that was only outmatched by a few, the legendary Jade Palace included.

Speaking of the Jade Palace, there was one other noteworthy thing that what made the academy famous, for one of the legendary Furious Five members, the master of the Crane Style, Crane, once attended this school. It was a quite an excellent story, really, for the master did not start out as a student, but as a janitor, for others dubbed him too skinny and weak to even consider enrolling into the school, and back then, even Crane himself agreed with him. For the past few months since he did become the janitor, he was treated poorly by the students, lesser than the floors he had cleaned and swept, enduring sneers and jabs for a long time, suffering humiliation in silence...and it would have continued that way, if it hadn't been for one fateful night before the annual tryouts into the academy...

While performing his janitorial duties via some martial techniques he had taught himself during his time at the academy, he had caught the attention of the academy's star pupil, a female mountain cat known as Mei Ling, one of the rare few in the academy that actually treated the avian with kindness. Amazed by his skill, she had suggested that the bird tried out for the school. At first, Crane was hesitant...but seeing how the female had faith in him, he decided that it would have been worth a shot. The next day, unfortunately, didn't exactly play out that way, for despite the other inductees who attempted the course and failed miserably, when it was Crane's turn, everyone just mocked him. The mountain cat felt guilty for subjecting him to more humiliation, and the bird himself felt even lower than he had before...but, as if fate had other plans for him, when he was sent to clean up the mess from the others' failing attempts at the course, he himself had accidentally wandered into the course...and in that moment, when the bird found himself in the midst of the dangerous course, he had found one of the major five components of kung fu itself...**confidence**...and it was that confidence that guided him to the end with the flag. With flag in talon, Crane had single-handily had received respect from his peers, was enrolled into the academy, and ultimately, was one step closer to becoming the warrior he had long dreamt about since he was a little chick...

Twenty years had passed since that fateful day, as Crane had bettered himself within the academy, alongside Mei Ling and the other students, and eventually, Crane's skills had caught the attention of Master Shifu and Grandmaster Oogway, for they extended an invitation to him to train at the Jade Palace and to become a part of a growing group known as the Furious Five. At first, the black and white bird was ecstatic that such masters famous as Oogway himself would consider him to be a student...but then he realized that if he was to accept, he would leave behind everything he knew at the academy, especially his friend Mei Ling, whose friendship he cherished more than anything, even his dreams. The bird had thought of declining the offer, but it was at the insistence of the mountain cat that he did go, urging him to go after his dreams...the good-bye between Crane and Mei Ling was the hardest for both of them, but the mountain cat promised him that he would always be in her heart. Although it was not said, there was a bit of a connection between the two, and when she said those words, it had driven the bird to continue onwards with his dreams, knowing that his efforts would all be for her. And surely enough, he did not disappoint, for he had grown to become the famous Master Crane, one of the Furious Five, and ally and friend to the Dragon Warrior...

As for Mei Ling on the other hand, she had remained at the academy, where she eventually grew from being a star student to being a teacher, and after a few years of teaching, she grew to become a grandmaster at the academy, and a damn good one at that. In fact, she was the youngest to even become a grandmaster, an lofty achievement in it's own rights...but alas, it had been twenty years since the once-janitor and the warrior had seen each other, only contacting each others through a string of letters. Had it not been apparent from the beginning, these two had feelings for each other, festering and boiling ever since they first met, and those feelings would have been forever locked away, never to be tapped into...had it not been for what had transpired tonight...

It was a cold night at the Lee Da Academy, as sounds of students burning the midnight oil echoed throughout the training yards and the wind whistling throughout the mountain passes. Two students in question were actually out on guard duty, to watch out for any intruders that might come their way, positioned atop the wall that overlooked the entrance, and to say the least; one of them wasn't doing their job...

A boar, in his mid-twenties, was lounging upon a chair he snatched from the dining hall, fast asleep and snoring loudly. Although his name is of no importance to this story, it was safe to say that he was one of the academy's under-achievers, and given how guard duty wasn't as demanding as it should be, the boar leapt at the chance of getting out of training, and at the chance of being able to get away with being lazy all night long.

His sleep would have continued endlessly, had not a loud scream echoed, "ZHOU! WAKE UP!"

The boar immediately jolted up, screaming, "I LOVE YOU, BEI-XING!" before realizing that he was no longer sleeping. He turned to his left to see a peeved hare, slightly younger than him, tapping his right foot vigorously. The boar known as Zhou groaned, "Oh...it's just you, Loz."

"What do you mean, it's just me?" The hare spat, "You should be awake and alert in case something tries to attack us!" For those wondering whom this 'Loz' character is, he too was a student at the academy. Unlike Zhou, he was actually an overachiever, the kind of guy that always followed the rule...unfortunately, he was a giant worry-wart, fretting about the littlest thing, in fact, it was at his great insistence that he would be placed on guard duty. It was without question that these two weren't the most compatible duo...

Zhou sighed, "We had been over this about a billion times, Loz! No ONE is going to attack us!"

"What's make you so sure, Zhou?! I had been hearing rumors lately, you know, with bandits raiding villages, taking their metal!"

"You mean with the wolf bandits? That was about a year ago!" The pig growled, "They had already dealt with that problem!"

"Oh, it's not the wolves, I can tell you that much! My ears had been twitching all day!" Loz explained, pointing at his ears, which indeed were flailing all over the place, "Something bad is going to happen tonight, I just know it!"

"Your ears twitches at everything! It twitched when you thought the spikes on the wooden dummies were too sharp! It twitched when you thought there was a fly in your soup! Hell, it twitched when you believed someone put a bug on your bed roll!" Zhou pointed out, obviously annoyed at his partner's ranting.

Loz gave a glare, "This is different, Zhou! My ears had never once let me down! There's something coming...something big...and it's coming tonight!"

"Really, Loz? Have you been reading from the fortune cookies again?" The boar sighed, as he then sat right up and stared directly into the hare's eyes, "If someone was coming tonight, who would be so stupid as to attack us?! This is Lee-Da, gods damn it! One of the greatest kung-fu fighting schools in all of China! Most of China's brilliant fighters are here, not to mention one of the greatest kung fu prodigies there ever was! To attack us would be like to take on the Imperial Army! If you expect me to lose sleep over some moron attacking this place..." The boar paused to refrain from saying something vulgar, and then he returned to his lounging position and muttered, trying to sleep some more, "You are just ridiculous."

"Ridiculous?!" Loz repeated angrily, "I'm ridiculous?! Why you..." The hare just turned around, muttering, "Excuse me for preparing for the unknown...excuse me for giving a rat's ass about safety..." In one last shout out to the boar, he yelled, "If anyone is the ridiculous one here, it is you that is RIDICUL-AH!" Just as he was about to utter the last word, something quickly grabbed him and yanked him off of the wall.

"Loz?" Zhou asked, noticing the yelp the hare gave, as he looked where his fellow guard was storming off. Not thinking any more into it, the boar returned to his resting position, as he whispered, "Dumb ol' Loz...I should really consider asking to guard another wall...well, I guess I'll do that in the morning." as he began to loom off to dreamland...but before he could do so, something suddenly latched onto the inner side of the wall aside the boar, instantly waking the boar up once more.

"What the?!" The pig shouted, quickly turning to face the origin of the noise. To his surprise, he saw what seemed to be a metal chain, and at the end of it, gripping onto the inside of the wall, there was a weird kind of hook. Zhou was hesitant to touch it at first, as he lightly ran his hands along the metal-like rope, and as soon as it neared the said hook, Zhou lightly gripped it and pulled it out, and was immediately baffled by the hook's shape, for it resembled some weird kind of blade or something (**Think of a kunai, then think of the Yugioh card Kunai with Chains**). The pig just said to himself, "What the flying fu-" Before he could finish the profane word, a strong force tugged on the chain, and before the pig could protest, he too was pulled off the wall like a fish on a fishing hook...as a low but audible growling sound emanated throughout the air…

However, unaware of the mysterious growl, within one of the barracks, a mountain cat was busy walking through the halls, performing her duty as a teacher of the school, making sure that there were no tomfoolery or mischief was being performed and everyone were either getting their rest or training properly. Although many other members of the feline species attended this school, this cat stuck out, for instead of the usual school uniform, she wore an elaborate emerald-colored vest that extended shortly pass her waist, along with matching colors pants as well, and on her paws were leather gloves, worn from many years of use. But what really identified her was a green scarf raveled around her neck snugly, and if it weren't for that, everyone probably would not be able to tell that she was Mei Ling, grandmaster of the Lee Da Academy.

She passed by a male German Shepherd student who quickly stumbles to give a bow of respect, and the cat just gave a slight smirk as he did so, ever since she was ordained as a grandmaster, many students looked up to her, whether it is out of respect or intimidation for her skill and knowledge, she did not know. It was all part of her daily routine as being master of a prestigious school: waking up, breakfast, addressing the school, overseeing training, lunch, overseeing more training, dinner, overseeing even more training, and then going to sleep. To some, this routine may seem redundant and tedious, but it was all but natural to the mountain cat.

Soon, she was out on the inner walls of the academy, where she then ran into her once-teacher, an elderly bull known as Gang (**Chinese for 'strong'**), who held the test that Crane passed that let him into the academy. The bull took note of the mountain cat as he addressed, "Ah, Master Mountain Cat, how goes it?"

Mei Ling rolled her eyes at her title, ever since she did become a master, everyone always referred her to by that name, despite her reasoning that they would be other masters that are also mountain cats, and it would lead to major confusion later on. Regardless, the female just sighed, "The usual. How things on your end?"

"I guess it is the same." Gang shrugged, before remembering something, "By the way, that one goose from the Jade Palace came and dropped off a letter from your boyfriend."

The mountain cat's cheeks immediately turn red when the bull said boyfriend, as she quickly defended, "Gang, I told you before, me and Crane are just friends. Nothing more!"

"Sure you are…" Gang chuckled, "I had seen the way you had looked at him back at the academy, not to mention how you only ever seem to spar with him, and the fact that it was because of you he got into the school in the first place."

The cat just growled, "Give me a break, Gang, I was just helping him pursue his dreams, and to be honest, it was Crane himself that got into the school, I just gave him…a push is all."

Gang turned to the cat, his expression turning serious for a moment, "Please, Mei Ling, who are you trying to fool? Everyone here know that you have some sort of feeling for that bird…"

"Really, who?" Mei Ling challenged, leaning back against the railing.

The bull just laughed, as he began counting off, "Simple, the students, the new janitor, the cook, the hooligans, heck, even the occasional bandits know-"

"What's your point?!" The cat snarled.

"I'm just saying, Mei, it had been what…twenty years…since you last seen him? I mean, to keep in touch through the letters is one thing, but eventually you got to see him again someday…"

"Gee, Gang, when did you become a expert on long-distance relationships?" Mei Ling sneered.

"Ever since I heard you got a letter from the Jade Palace a month after Crane left." Gang nonchalantly answered, as if it was no big deal.

The cat remained muted. Not long after Crane had left the school was Mei Ling was given an invitation to join the Jade Palace as a member of the Furious Five (despite the fact that all five members were already together at that time), but unlike her avian friend, she had opted to remain at the academy, much to the others' confusion. When they questioned her about why she did, she merely replied that she was following her own dreams, which was to become a teacher and grandmaster, and to teach many aspiring students to become all that they can be. But there still remain a few skeptics who believe there was a bigger reason…

"Come on, Mei Ling, what are you doing here? Why don't you go after the bird?" Gang continued.

Mei Ling shook off her silence, "It's not that simple, Gang…"

"What do you mean, not that simple? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life teaching these guys when you could serve under one of the greatest kung fu masters of all time? I mean, it's not like you hadn't fulfilled your dream by a long shot..." Gang tried to reason.

As much as Mei Ling would like to agree with him, there was one obstacle that stood in the way of her doing just as he recommended...herself. Indeed, as she had grown to know the bird, it was obvious that she was developing feelings for her best friend, very..._intense_ feelings. As much as she wanted to confess such feelings to him, she was afraid...afraid that the avian would not return her feelings, that she was not worthy of him. Unbeknownst to anyone, that was one of the main reasons she stayed behind at Lee Da, all the complex reasonings simplified to the fact that she was afraid to risk bearing the pain that could possibly ensues.

Frustrated, she just growled, "Look, I am done discussing this. Don't you have someone else you should be teaching?"

Gang frowned at his ex-student's sadness, and merely replied, "Well, I was just about to check on the front wall. I bet ya right now that one boar Zhou is snoring it up right-"

Before the bull could finish that sentence, the walls slightly vibrated.

"Whoa, what was that?" Mei Ling asked.

"I don't know, maybe someone got thrown into a wall too hard?" Gang suggested. Unfortunately, that suggestion was proven false, when the walls suddenly shuddered again, with much more ferocity.

"I don't think that is it..." The grandmaster said fearfully.

Suddenly, a student (a pigeon) was rushing up to the two masters in the courtyard, shouting, "MASTER MOUNTAIN CAT! MASTER GANG! WE'RE UNDER A-" Before the pigeon could screech, the usually fortified doors that led into the academy were blasted off their hinges and both of them were sent flying, one of them immediately crushing the poor student, while the other one was smashed into the wall that Gang and Mei Ling were atop of.

"What in blue blazes?!" Gang gasped, "What's going on?!"

His question was partially answered, as through the clearing dust, generated from smashing the doors, sounds of stone being crushed under heavy feets began to ensue, resonating along with a sound of what seems to be...chains rattling? A dark silhoulette started to walk it's way through the dust, being watched by the other students who look on in fear at the being approaching them, step by step...and soon, the dust settled, and Mei Ling nearly gulped in fear at what she saw.

First off, the being was an animal, a tiger to be exact, with fur of ash-gray and stripes of the blackest night, but there were many perturbing features that made it stood out. The mountain cat could easily tell that the intruder was a male, given how bulky his muscles were, and judging from the scars and nixes in the stranger's body, he was well experiencd. He was also much bigger than any other animals she had ever seen before, and she would know, she challenged bigger foes to train herself all the time. His outfit looked like one you would find on prisoners, a garb of a dull dark-gray, and a sash wrapped tightly around his abdomen...and she believed she knew why, as the tiger's maw was locked tight with a iron face mask, intended to keep the most vicious creatures' jaws from biting someone's hand off while disabling the beast's ability to consume anything, and upon his left shoulder was a spike-laden pauldron. But if there was anything unique about the creature that stood before them, it was the many links of chains that were coiled all around the feline's body, most of them wrapped around his torso in a X-shaped pattern with loose bits of fetters hanging off the said group of chains, and even more of them spiralling around his well-toned arms, and, to both masters' shocks, at the end of the chain of his left arm, was a three-pronged blade hook attached to the back of his left paw. The creature just stood there in the midst of the courtyard, taking no heed of the eyes that were all laid on him, in fact, it seemed...despondent, as if it was a puppet on a string, evident by the blankness of the beasts' cold silver eyes.

No sound except the howling of the winds and the crumblings of pebbles falling off the wall that the door smashed into was made, for the students, both old and new, knew not what to do in this situation for it had never seem to happen before. Mei Ling shared a glance with Gang, completely unsure of what to make of this stranger, but all she got from the bull was an equal amount of uncertainty in the bovine's eyes.

The beast's eyes wandered from left to right, and upon seeing all that had surrounded him, he gave a evil smirk under his face mask...

Finally recovering from his shock, Gang then shouted out, "What are you guys waiting for? An invitation? GET HIM!"

No one dared moved at first, for the feline deeply intimidated them, but one of them, a young wolf, snapped out of his shock state as he charged at the beast with a sword in him and with a battle cry...but just as he approached the tiger, the giant cat turned around and with one swing of his powerful fist, the wolf found himself immediately embedded in a wall. The other students became mortified by the unknown man's strength, as Gang and Mei Ling gaped at the now-unconscious warrior in the wall. Gang then turned back to the courtyard and screamed, "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! DO SOMETHING!"

Not willing to disappoint their teacher, more students dashed at the tiger with weapons in hand, believing that more of them in numbers would subdue him...but the creature had other ideas, as he unraveled the chain around his right arm and as a makeshift whip, he swung it at the group of students and sent them flying against the wall and knocking them out all in one fell swoop.

"Holy crap..." Mei Ling whispered under her breath, as more of her pupils began charging at the beast, but the black-striped cat utilizing the shackles on his right arm once more as he begun taking them out effortlessly with a swing of a chain. Two students were able to get up close to the man, but the beast easily conk them out with a sweep of his also well-toned legs, blowing them back into other students.

More and more of the Lee Da's student body came out into the courtyard, all attempting to overwhelm the warrior by attacking him all at once...but the beast let out a small grunt as he then unraveled the chains on his left arm that held his blade, and with a step forward, he charged headfirst at the disciples, swinging the steel-like ropes with ease as he literally decimated them all by blasting them aside with a whip of his chains and sweeps of his legs, defeating each and every one of them without even a sweat permeating from the beast's brows. Mei Ling just watched in horror as she saw all her students get their asses handed to him all by a singular brute.

"Oh gods...this is bad...real bad...Gang, what we do?" The mountain cat asked, desperate for an answer... "...Gang?" but as she turned to her left, she saw to her shock that the bull was no longer there. She quickly returns her sight to the battle-torn courtyard, where she saw her once-teacher approaching the intruder...

The stranger just finished wrapping his chains around an unfortunate student and swinging him over head into the ground at a tremendous amount of force, before he heard a loud "HEY!"

He glanced towards the origin of the voice, where the teacher stood, as he picked up an axe that was dropped by one of the students, as he ordered, "I DEMAND THAT YOU VACATE THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING! LEAVE NOW IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE!"

The silver-hued tiger looked at the bull with a blank expression, before a quiet but quite noticeable chuckle began to emanate from his maw, as if what the bull said was a well-told joke.

"Are you...laughing at me?" Gang asked, his eyes twitching upon hearing the chuckle of the dark feline. The laughs did not stop, thus answering the bull's question, prompting the master to let out his own battle cry in anger as he dashed at the beast at a speed faster than usual for a bull, raising his axe to strike at the beast...but just before he was about to swing, the beast swung his bladed chain and snapped the weapon out of the bull's hand. The bull gripped his weapon hand as he felt the full sting of the chain lashing against his hand, then he glared fiercely at the beast, whose expression was still blank.

Now seeing red, the bull charged at him once more, with nothing more but his fists as he swung freely at the stranger...but to his surprise, the beast was not only adept in kicks and the uses of the chains he donned, but in close combat as well, for he merely blocked with a forearm. Not willing to let the evil being best him, the bull started throwing punches left and right, having his attacks only met by the tiger blocking each and one of them with his arms. Frustrated that none of his attacks were connecting, Gang let out a loud moo as he charged up his right fist and swung with all his might...but the evil feline caught it as if it was just a radish being thrown to him. The teacher was horrified as he gazed at the tiger, who then gave him a vicious uppercut to the chin, knocking him to the ground.

"GANG!" Mei Ling screeched from atop the wall.

The bull spat out a bit of blood as he tried to get up...but he suddenly felt something cold coiled around his neck tightly, as Gang began struggling to breathe, gripping the shackles that were now tightening around his neck. The chain-equipped brute gripped his left arm's chains tightly as he tugged upwards while keeping his left foot placed firmly on his chest, choking the life out of the teacher and relishing in the bovine's flailing to get oxygen into his lungs. The bull was about to slip into unconscious and eventually die of asphyxiation when...

"HEY!"

The evil tiger looked up only to have his face met with a drop kick, knocking him off balance and loosening his chain's grip on Gang's neck, allowing the bull to breathe, but not before he fainted from the lack of oxygen. He looked up in anger only to see a mountain cat landing not far from him, glaring at him with an equal amount of fury.

"WHY DON'T YOU PICK ON SOMEONE HALF YOUR SIZE?!" Mei Ling taunted.

Amused by the female's cockiness, the beast kicked Gang's limp form aside as he then flourishes his chains and swung them at the mountain cat. Fortunately, she was not made grandmaster for no reason, as she nimbly dodged them with ease as she quickly dashed at the figure and delivered a few swift kicks to his abdomen. The male took a step back as he retaliated with a swat of his forearm, but the grandmaster jumped off of him before she could get hit.

"You would actually hit a woman?" The mountain cat toyed with the beast. Despite being grandmaster, she still hung onto her mischevious spirit.

The beast just growled inaudibly as he then pulled on the chains that overlapped his torso, which was actually connected to the chains on his arms, and the end results was that it gave both his very lethal whip-like weapons more length. Before Mei Ling could comment on this new revelation, the tiger immediately lashed his extended whips at the cat with much more ferocity, and with enough strength that when it hit the walls, it actually smashed through it. And much to the female's dismay, she was losing grounds fast.

"_Shit, this guy is good, probably a mercenary, no doubt. I will never beat him at this rate. If only I had a…_" Mei Ling thought bitterly to herself before she caught a glimpse of a pole-ax, "_Bingo._"

A growl was made by the tiger as he swung his metal whips at the cat once more. Thinking on her feet, the cat cartwheeled towards the weapon. Immediately grabbing it during her dodge, she twirled it around quickly when she landed, flinging the sharp edge off of it and at her adversary. Needless to say, the blade hit him in his un-armored shoulder, causing a bit of blood to seep from it, but the beast did not flinch one bit, but as he eyed his injured shoulder, he then glared at the cat, now more furious. Mei Ling growled to herself as she flourished the pole and enter battle stance.

"You want me? Come and get it!" The cat taunted.

Her foe obliged, as he charged at the cat, his chains sparking as they are dragged along the ground, as he swung his fists forward at the cat, but the feline was swift, weaving around his punches as each of the silver tiger's fists met the wall she was standing in front of, creating indents in the wall. Eventually Mei Ling darted away from the wall, quickly followed by her bigger male counterpart as he returned to swinging his chains as if there were nothing more than swords. Going on the offensive, the mountain cat dodged his strikes and begun swinging her staff at the beast's body, scoring a couple blows in his legs and in the abdomen. Although the damage it dealt was insufficient, it was doing wonders in pissing him off even more, as he then tried grabbing her with his strong arms, but the female flipped onto his back as he did so, and brought the staff up to his neck.

The tiger let out a louder growl as he began shaking his body at a vicious speed trying to shake his opponent off of his back, but the female hung onto him tightly. Mei Ling just smirked inwardly; she knew that her training against bigger adversaries would pay off. All she needed to do was let the beast wear himself out and deliver the coup de grace at his weakest.

This creature however was smarter than he let on, as he knew that his foe had a death grip on her staff and shaking her off by brute force would be fruitless, all he needed to do was lure her into a false sense of security before unleashing his ace card...which was namely the mask that restrained his jaws. The beast stop struggling, much to Mei Ling's confusion, but unbeknownst to her, his face mask was not your run-of-the-mill kind of mask, for in the mouthpiece of the mask, there was a lever that his teeth gripped onto, and when the creature applied just enough pressure on it, it acts as a release mechanism. Unfortunately, Mei Ling did not know of this, as the beast then activated the said mechanism, and to her shock, the face mask split open as the tiger let out a roar and in a swift flick of his head, the female was immediately flung off of him.

The female barely managed to land on her feet as the tiger charged at her, and the mountain cat tried to retaliate by swinging her staff…but unfortunately, the beast's unrestrained jaws caught it, and with another flick of his head, the cat was thrown to the side, losing grip of it. Mei Ling let out a groan as her left side now ached from hitting the ground, slowly getting to her feet as she faced her opponent once more, only to gasp in fear as the tiger snapped her weapon like a twig in his teeth.

"_Just who is this bastard?!_" Mei Ling thought fearfully to herself. Never in her time as a kung fu warrior as she ever met a foe that proved to not be only more than a challenge, but a serious threat to everyone around him. Before she could ponder any more, the beast began twirling his bladed chain in a windmill-like motion. Immediately focusing on the fight at hand, Mei Ling adopted a fighting stance, ready to take whatever he planned to throw at her.

And indeed, the stranger did throw something: his bladed chain, as he thrust his kunai-armed chain right at her…but instead of aiming directly at her, it smashed into the wall behind her.

Confused by the tiger's intentional miss, she returned her glance to the tiger asking, "What are you-" Before she could finish that sentence, the tiger, using his hooked chain like a slingshot, flung himself at the cat and immediately catching her and smashing her into the wall at a high velocity.

"AGH! DAMN IT!" Mei Ling screamed as pain invaded her entire body, feeling a few of her ribs breaking upon impact with the wall. Coughing up a bit of blood from the damage to her internal organs, she looked up to face the beast who had her in his right arm, and felt fear invade her senses as she saw something flickered in the tiger's eyes…not anger or hate…but a bit of…lust? She tried to move, but the tiger immediately let go of her vest and gripped her tightly by the neck as he pushed her further up the wall, effectively choking her as he did with Gang.

The mountain cat began flailing and struggling to break out of the male's grip, but that one powerful blow left her extremely weakened, and she was completely helpless as her sight began to fail her. All the female could do was give up as the beast choked her till she blank out…but as she did, she choked out one last whisper, "C-Crane…"

With that, the entire world went black…

* * *

**Meanwhile, in a location undisclosed…**

Sounds of talons and claws clattering echoed throughout a dark hall, as a mysterious figure walked towards a set of very intricate doors. This figure in question was a bat, a kind commonly known as a vampire bat, but rest assured, he does not pray on innocent beings' blood…as much to my knowledge. The flying mammal wore a simple green and gold vest with a design of a dragon on its back and shorts of the matching color, and a dark green bandana wrapped around his neck. He had an earring in one of big ears and a notch in another, and studded on his wingspans were short but very sharp blades and his eyes of orange glimmered like the dull flames that barely light the hall he was walking in.

The bat pulled the doors…only to have it not move. Easily frustrated, the bat started pulling viciously, but it still wouldn't budge. He stopped and let out a growl of anger before he noticed the Chinese symbol on the door said PUSH instead of PULL. The creature's cheeks flush in embarrassment as he then did as the symbol said, and the doors opened out to a large and dark chamber, so dark in fact that not even the torches in the room could illuminate it. But what was creepier was the darker end of the room, where light but subtle breathings could be heard, echoing throughout the empty room…

Slowly walking in, the bat went to the center of the room and bowed down to one knee, "My liege…I am pleased to inform you that our co-conspirator was successful in his raid of the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy without so much as a hitch." He addressed, talking to what seemed to be nothing.

But indeed there was someone else in the room, as a dark and raspy voice replied, "Excellent…I knew that our dear friend would have no trouble taking on a school filled with pitiful fools and their ludicrous beliefs in this thing they called kung fu. I take it that he is on his way back here, Aang?"

His accomplice, apparently known as Aang, nodded, "Yes, sir…but there is one thing that should be mentioned."

"Yes?" The voice asked, his tone lined with curiosity.

"Well, I don't know all the details, but apparently…" The bat took a deep breath, as he was afraid of what he had to say next, "He captured the school's grandmaster, a female mountain cat that goes by the name of…" Aang pulled out what seemed to be a note, as he read it, "Miss Mei Ling a.k.a Master Mountain Cat."

The mysterious voice remained mute for a moment, before he replied with amusement in his voice, "Did he now?" The being let out a chuckle, "Looks like things got a bit more interesting..."

Aang gulped at what seemed to be his leader's reaction, "But sir…shouldn't we be worried? I mean, he just took a kung fu master! That is going to attract a lot of attention from the other kung fu masters, and if they catch on to us, we'll be-"

"Let them come." The dark figure said, "It will not matter…our plans are about ready to be set into motion…once the first domino falls, not even their 'kung fu' will save them, not like it did before…"

He turned around to face his cohort, as a ghastly pair of golden eyes revealed itself, "Nothing will stop me …for in the end…China will be mine."

* * *

**A/N: What do you think of that?! Here in this chapter, we reunite with our dear friend Mei Ling, as well as the instructor that was in the flashback of Crane's past in SotFF. We also meet our three main antagonists…well technically two of them, for you probably don't know who the last guy is…for now (Maniacal laugh). The tiger that attacked the academy is one of my first KFP OCs, who is a Siberian Tiger who knows his ways with the chains, not to mention he is mute like my LotG OCs Biggs and Wedge. His name will be revealed next chapter (but you are welcome to guess). The other OC some of you people should know, Aang, who was a secondary antagonist within Synchronized Harmony's story, The Return of Lord Shen. Unfortunately, I did not know what he looked like, so I went with my guts. I also include a joke from his story involving Aang (Can you guess what the joke was?). This chapter had underwent a few changes, as originally, I was going to have another OC of my own be doing a story for the news on Mei Ling, only to pick at her love life, then I thought of her being in her room contemplating leaving the academy, but eventually…I went with the conversation featuring the instructor. As for the two OCs at the beginning, they were just comic relief before…well you know, but you guys are free to use them if you want. Anywho, I hope you enjoy the fight sequences, and Synchronized Harmony, I hope I caught a bit of Aang's character. For those wanting Crane and Shen…you will be getting both of them in the next two chapters. For now…READ AND REVIEW!**

**Voice Cast for OCs (Instead of doing it in the middle of the chapter, I will just post it here.)**

**Zhou – Christopher Mintz-Plasse (****_Fishlegs _****from****_ How to Train Your Dragon_****)**

**Loz – Aziz Ansari (****_Squint _****from ****_Ice Age: Continental Drift_****)**

**Unknown Siberian Tiger – Frank Welker (SFX)**

**Aang – Robert Carlyle (****_Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin_**** from ****_Once Upon A Time_****)**

**Unknown Voice – John Reardon (****_CLU_**** from ****_Tron: Legacy_****)**

**_Artworks stuff is appreciated, deeply appreciated._**


	3. The Disturbance In The Peace

**A/N: …Hey…it's me, Shen's General…I know some of you guys are wondering why this update took so long…it's just…eh…I was worried about this chapter…deeply worried. I mean, did you ever have a chapter typed out, and was unsure if it was any good? It just that my story Between Brothers was a excellent hit…and I was worried I would disappoint you guys if I showed you this chapter…but thanks to a new friend of mine, I became inspired enough to finally finish this chapter. I'm sorry if this chapter is not up to par with my other work…and I am sorry for keeping you all in the dark for so long.**

**REPLY REPONSES:**

**Animation Universe 2005: **Indeed, there are dark schemes afoot. I'm glad that I managed to get you fired up!

**TheEasilyAmusedOne: **Yes, they are indeed.

**sonicfighter21354: **I never seen Avatar except from the commercials, but I found the series to be…weird. And yes, I intentionally had the mysterious figure sound like Shen there for a reason. As for the heroes who will save Mei Ling…you are partially correct.

**Master Crane: **Thank you, I am glad that you were able to lend your two cents. As for that joke, you would had to read Synchronized Harmony's story The Return of Lord Shen to find out. Charlie told me he would be unable to come on often. The German Sheppard bit was unintentional.

**ExplodedPotato: **Yes, that was intentional for a reason. It will be revealed later on.

**Synchronized Harmony: **Oh, yes, indeed, Sync. I am glad I was on the ball with Aang's behaviorism and outfit and I am glad you liked my tiger OC. I can understand the bit with Mei Ling and Gang a bit strange timing-wise, but I figured I try to take a slight different approach to the Mei Ling and Crane dynamic.

**Aniu16: **Well, I was thinking of Squint when I made Loz. The boar I was just aiming for a lazy character. I am sorry for have making you wait for the Between Brothers updates, but now I finished it.

**jjhatter: **Sorry about spoiling a bit for you. And yes, Mr. Gold as Aang certainly works. As for the name…I should tell you that the OC's name isn't technically a name, per se, but a title, but the name Siwang Deimos does have a nice ring to it. Also, the mask of the beast should be more like Bane's mask from the Dark Knight Rises, without the strap between his eyes and over the head, but I digress. Thank you.

**Crazybird101: **Again, EPIC WIN on your review.

**MOVISION: **Glad you find it interesting.

**Guest:** Thank you.**  
**

**Note: I disregard the reviews that were made for the special note chapter…and that guest who said I did not plan this thoroughly…I did plan the story…it was just the matter of making it work.**

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda, wished I did, but I don't.**

**I do not own the song Second Chance or Shinedown.**

**I do own the Siberian Tiger and the mysterious character yet to be revealed, as well as Zhou and Loz.**

**Synchronized Harmony owns Aang.**

* * *

Chapter Three: The Disturbance In The Peace

**"****_Redemption and second chances are two of many things sought by people._****"**

_My eyes are open wide and by the way, I made it through the day._  
_I watched the world outside, by the way, I'm leaving out today._

_I just saw Hayley's comet, shooting._  
_Said, "Why you always running in place?"_  
_Even the man in the moon disappeared…somewhere in the stratosphere!_

_Tell my mother, tell my father, I've done the best I can!_  
_To make them realize this is my life, I hope they understand._  
_I'm not angry, I'm just saying...sometimes goodbye is a second chance…_

_Please don't cry one tear for me, I'm not afraid of what I have to say._  
_This is my one and only voice, so listen close, it's only for today_

_I just saw Hayley's comet, shooting._  
_Said, "Why you always running in place?"_  
_Even the man in the moon disappeared…somewhere in the stratosphere!_

_Tell my mother, tell my father, I've done the best I can!_  
_To make them realize this is my life, I hope they understand._  
_I'm not angry, I'm just saying...sometimes goodbye is a second chance!_

_Here's my chance! This is my chance!_

_Tell my mother, tell my father, I've done the best I can!_  
_To make them realize this is my life, I hope they understand._  
_I'm not angry, I'm just saying...sometimes goodbye is a second chance._

_Sometimes goodbye is a second chance! Sometimes goodbye is a second chance…_

Second Chance, Shinedown

* * *

About a hundred miles away and a few days later from the events that occurred at Lee Da, there laid a small and peaceful valley known as the Valley of Peace. If the name in itself sounds familiar, it should, for it is home to the great Jade Palace, the sacred training grounds of the late Grandmaster Oogway and current Grandmaster Shifu and his students, The Furious Five. It is also home to the legendary Dragon Warrior, the famous hero that had saved China…twice even.

The first was when a student by the name of Tai Lung, a once-prized pupil of Shifu, not to mention his adopted son, sought for the power of the Dragon Scroll and the title Dragon Warrior, and would had been willing to reduce the valley into ashes and he would have succeeded, had not Oogway chosen the real Dragon Warrior, a fat panda who was there by a strange turns of events. After a long, hard fight and the use of a very dangerous technique known as the Wuxi Finger Hold, he defeated Tai Lung and finally was accepted as a true warrior by his peers and his master.

The second time was when a certain peacock (as you may recall) took over Gongmen City and planned on taking over China with his newfound weapons. After hearing news of Thundering Rhino's death at the hand of his inventions, they immediately traveled to the city, and after chasing his commander, getting caught, escaping a shot-down tower, and after the Dragon Warrior realized his past, he managed to defeat Lord Shen by redirecting his cannonballs, and Shen perished at the hands of his own weapon…but there shall be more on that later.

Only a year had passed since the warriors ventured off to Gongmen City to put a stop to Lord Shen's evil plans, and since then, bandit raids and invasions had been reduced significantly, and to say the least, peace had actually reigned over the Valley of Peace and the warriors hadn't face any particularly dangerous foe since then (except for Ke-Pa of course)…but all that was about to change for a certain hero, for he shall be called upon to take a role in a quest designed by fate and prophecy…and it all started with someone flying towards the valley…

A good distance from the said valley, on a hanging tree in the side of a mountain, a beaten-up pigeon landed on the branch, letting out deep, exhausted pants. In case you don't recall, this is the same pigeon that was smashed under a door that was blasted open by the mysterious attacker that raided the Lee Da Academy a few nights earlier.

"…S-shit…only a few miles further…gotta get this message to the Jade Palace…" The pigeon whimpered, as he spread his wings (resulting in a hurting crick) and took off towards the Valley, for he was on a mission…

Elsewhere, atop a big mountain and up a thousand steps from the valley below, within the training grounds of the prestigious Jade Palace, all was quiet…too quiet…when a soothing song began to play…

In the courtyard, there sat a elderly red panda, playing his bamboo flute, seemingly unaware of his surroundings…especially given how he was failing to notice a couple of figures closing in on him, like a prey surrounded by a plethora of predators…the old man continued to play his flute until his left ear began to twitch…

Instantly in that moment, a tiger and a viper burst out from behind a rock, a monkey and a mantis from a nearby tree, and a crane swooped down from the sky as they all attacked the old man at once, but this was no ordinary old man, for he was Grandmaster Shifu, one of a select few that was trained by Grandmaster Oogway himself. Being the trained master he was, Shifu immediately went on the defensive, first off by blocking the female tiger's attack, then repelling a tail swipe by the viper, and utilizing his flute, shoving the monkey away as he tried to attack him, and with another flick, he knocked off the mantis that hopped onto his shoulder. Then as the crane swoop down at the red panda, Shifu immediately whacked him on the head as he dodged his attack, and repeatedly deflects each of his foe's attacks and eventually pushed all of them back, as the five attackers and him adopted battle stances…

But then, Shifu commented, breaking his pose, "Well done, students, you are all seem to be improving." The five students went into a bow, as Shifu looked upon all of them with approving glances…before realizing something, "Where's Po?"

A loud sound of scraping shingles answered his question as a panda, who was hiding atop one of the roofs, leapt out and was about to pounce at the red panda…before tripping and stumbling down the other side, landing hard at Shifu's feet. The mantis and monkey could not help but give a slight chuckle…while the red panda gave a sigh.

"Panda…this ought to be the third time you tried the roof…and honestly, it is pathetic given how everyone can hear you up there."

Po, who was still on the ground, face muffled, raised his hand, defending, "At least it's an attempt…"

The five and Shifu rolled their eyes, as much as they had grown to respect the 'Dragon Warrior', both as a kung fu master and a friend, he always was the same lackadaisical, fanboyish panda that came from the sky in a burning fireball a few years back. Normally Shifu would have viciously reprimanded someone for trying to make such excuses…but ever since he met Po, he had softened up a bit…he was still strict, but not as much as he was, especially after Tai Lung…

"Yes, Po. It was an attempt." Shifu answered with a defeated sigh, as he took note of the sun setting, "Well, it is high-time we stop for the day, you may report to the barracks for dinner."

Everyone were in the kitchen, as Po prepared some noodle soup, as he usually did, for he was really gifted in the culinary arts, while the five were discussing matters regarding many things. Shifu was busy in his room, meditating, as always.

"So, Po… that was…quite a stunt you pulled today." Tigress addressed unsurely.

Po flushed a bit, as he cut a radish, "Well, yeah…I really couldn't think of any way of sneaking up on him. So I thought, hey, I was close with the roof idea."

"Face it, Po; you are no good at stealth mode." Monkey quipped.

"In fact, you bombed it…a lot." Mantis added, chuckling a little.

Po merely frowned when Crane, the most mature of the group, just sighed, "Give Po a break, some people is good at stealth, some aren't; it's that simple."

"Well thanks, Crane…I think…" The panda nodded, not quite sure if Crane was really defending him or just saying he sucked. But that thought didn't matter, as he finished the soup, "Ah, SOUP ON!"

Within a matter of moments, Po quickly passed five bowls of soup along the table, each of them stopping in front of the five masters and placed one in front of him. Soon, dinner had begun.

"Hmm, Po, you did it again, this soup is so delicious!" Viper complimented.

"Yeah, only wish I could fit more of it in my mouth!" Mantis chirped.

"You can say that again!" Monkey agreed.

"Indeed." Tigress, who was the other most mature member of the group, simply nodded. She didn't admit it at first, but the panda's soup was certainly…awesome, as he would put it.

These compliments were nothing new for Po and his soup. Everyone always seems to get a kick out of this delicacy, especially when prepared by either Po or his father, Mr. Ping, who own a noodle shop down in the valley.

Po merely smiled at the compliments, glad that his other skill made up for the lacking in his kung fu today…but then he noticed that Crane, who was not really eating, but looked like he was patiently waiting for something.

"Hey, Crane, is everything alright?" Po asked, "You haven't made a comment on the soup with the others."

Crane quickly snapped out of his focused gaze as he turn to face Po, "Huh…oh, oh no, Po, everything is fine. I am just waiting…"

"Waiting? For what?" The panda questioned, obviously confused.

Suddenly, instead of Crane answering, the doors into the kitchen burst open, as Zeng, the head servant and messenger of the palace, called out, "MAIL CALL!"

"Oh." Po answered. He forgot that at least once a week, Zeng would come in to deliver letters from other people to them. Given their positions, most of the letters they receive were either fan mail from fans from other villages, death threats from their enemies, and rarely a few personal contacts.

Zeng went around the room as he passed a scroll to Viper, "To you, a letter from your parents." Then, he went to Mantis and Monkey, rolling his eyes, "To you two, a scroll about some immature pranks." He goes to Tigress, "To you, a letter from Zan." The Zan he was referring to was a young goose that she and Po had saved a while back. Eventually, he then arrived at Po, "And to you, Po…oodles and oodles of fan mail." The elder goose reached into his bag and pulled out a pile of mail and places it in front of Po, much to his delight.

Crane watched him expectedly as he nears him, for he himself was expecting a letter as well for a while. Zeng was moments away from approaching him…but to his shock, the goose just walked by him.

"Uh, Zeng…isn't there a certain letter for me? You know, from Lee Da?" Crane confronted.

Zeng sighed, "Sorry, Master Crane, still nothing."

The crested crane stifled a disappointed sigh as he whispered, "She usually writes back by now…"

For those who wonder about whom our avian friend was referring to, it is none other than Mei Ling, his friend and classmate back at the academy. Ever since he had left their halls and on to the Jade Palace, he had made it his monthly ritual to send a letter concerning his well-being and current events to his dear friend and at least a day or two later, the mountain cat usually responded with likewise contents. But this time, his friend seemed to be taking longer than usual to write back…

"Oh, come on; Crane, so your girlfriend is late in returning your letter." Mantis chuckled, "The mail system back at Sun-Lo is probably backed up or something."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Crane snapped. Ever since Monkey and Mantis had learned about his 'lady friend', they always seemed to tease him about it, and even went on to play 'keep away' with it once…that resulted in a major beating. But despite that, what Crane said was not the entire truth. Sure, she was not his girlfriend…but as Mei Ling had for him, he had a crush on her. No matter how he denied it to his friends, they were no fools, including Po, who had only learned of her shortly after his arrival at the Jade Palace, he always felt for the mountain cat, but couldn't work up the courage to say how he felt…completely ironic when he thought of it; he took on bad guys aplenty without fear yet he could not tell a girl he liked his true feelings. Either way, it annoyed Crane when they pestered him about her, not because what they said wasn't true, but the seething fact that it wasn't true to him. "She is just my friend who happens to be a girl!"

"Whoa, easy, Crane, we were joshing ya!" Monkey quickly stammered, raising his hands in defense.

The bird sighed, "Sorry…it's just that I am beginning to worry. I know Mei Ling; she never takes this long…except for that one time around the winter solstice with that blizzard."

"Look, Crane, it is probably fine." Viper tries to soothe, "Mei Ling is probably busy with her duties, she is a grandmaster, you know."

"Viper's right." Tigress nodded, "I'm sure her letter will be here shortly."

"She's right!" Po exclaimed, "I bet Mei Ling is busy kicking butt right now!"

"Yeah…" Mantis nodded, "…but we cannot cross out the possibility that Mei Ling is busy dating a fellow mountain cat."

The room went silent as soon as those words uttered from the bug's mouth, as Crane and the others glared at him, as the avian, whose glare was the most seething, simply left his place at the table and exited the room without so much as a word, while the others continued staring at the bug…

Mantis winced under their angered gaze as he asked, "What?!" His question was simply answered by a smack on the head by Viper.

Crane, as soon as he was out of the kitchen, let out a heavy sigh, when he turned to go to his room. What Mantis said really did offend him, not because it was insensitive (it was, make no mistake), but the fact that it was a possibility, no matter how improbable it was. He never read anywhere in her past letters about a possible suitor, but honestly, that could simply be because Mei Ling chose not to mention him (I mean, would you tell one of your longtime friends that you were seeing someone?).

The avian soon arrived at his room, opening the paper-thin doors with ease as he entered it. Soon as he did, he let out another sigh…was if what Mantis said was right? What if she did move on? For crying out loud, it was twenty some years since he last saw her, surely in those years, she could have easily found a male that made her as happy as he did and more, and who could blame them? Mei Ling was perfect: she was kind, strong, compassionate…beautiful…Crane shook his head, why did he feel this way? It was obvious that he was not meant for her. He was a crested crane, she was a mountain cat, he was a janitor, she was a star pupil, this infatuation should have faded away…then why does he have a crush on her?

With that thought in his mind, he went to a trunk that he kept in his room. Upon opening it, its contents revealed to be organized sets of paper, the left side containing all the calligraphy drawings he made, while the right side…where all scrolls that contained letters that he had kept from Mei Ling.

Without much thought, Crane grabbed the first letter on top, which was the last one he received from her last month. He unfurled it to read it:

_Dear Master Crane,_

_I am glad to hear that things had been going swimmingly since your last letter, even gladder that nothing that could destroy China had shown up since then. As for me, things had been normal…too normal you might say. It's just that back at the academy, when you're a student, you seem to learn something new everyday…while as a grandmaster, routines is nothing more than clockwork. Sometimes, I just wish that something unexpected would just happen…hell, I wouldn't mind if some dumb ol' bandit tries to rob the place…hehe, just kidding. Anywho, I guess besides that, everything is just fine. I look forward to your letter next month…_

_Love,_

_Mei Ling_

This letter was different from his previous letters, as Mei Ling always signed off by saying 'Till then', but as he read it, she said 'love'. Crane just figured that Mei Ling wanted to mix things up…but a part of him wondered if she changed it for another reason…the monochromatic bird just sighed as he rolled it up and placed it back in his chest…he wished he could just flat out say 'I love you', but he hadn't seen her in so long, and with what his fellow bug comrade said, he feared it would be useless now to say it. The bird just mentally kicked himself for being such a coward, and wished to himself that he would get another chance to see her face to face…but he just shook the thought, what were the odds of that happening?

In another room in the palace, Shifu was doing his daily meditation within his chamber, as no sounds except the winds blowing through the leaves outside were heard…as well as the quiet yet profound whispers made by the red panda as he proceeded with his meditations.

"Inner peace…inner peace…inner peace…" Shifu muttered, feeling the warmth of the lit candles in front of him, "Inner…inner peace…" A sound of wingbeat suddenly begins to echo, "Inner peace….inner peace…" More wingbeat sounds echoed, as the red panda's ears started to take note of it. "Inner…peace." A flurry of wingbeat sounds was made. "Zeng, if Po did something wrong again, I am in no mood to-" Shifu growled as he turned to see who was disturbing his session only to see a roughed-up pigeon flinch at his sudden about-face.

"Oh." Shifu uttered, somewhat embarrassed that he almost lashed out on a stranger, "Who are you"

"Bolin, sir!" The pigeon immediately squacked as he gave a salute, "From Lee Da Academy in Sun-Lo, sir!"

"Lee-Da?" Shifu asked, recognizing the name of one of his student's old school, "That's an awful long way from here. And what of you? You look like you were crushed by a door or something."

Bolin gave a shudder when Shifu said that, as he explained, "Well, Shifu, sir, that is kinda why I am here. Master Gang sent me to deliver this to Crane..." He pulls out a crumpled up letter from his pocket and handed it to Shifu.

The red panda take it, and after opening up the piece of paper, he takes a look at it…and his expression immediately turned to that of concern.

"Oh gods…" He whispered.

"I know. Trust me…I know…" Bolin droned as he suddenly fell to the ground out of exhaustion, shocking the red panda, as he quickly caught the slightly bigger avian.

Quickly working, Shifu shouted, "ZENG!"

Then suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Zeng quickly burst through the doors as he questioned, "Yes, Master Shifu?!" His eyes widened upon the sight of the unconscious pigeon in his arms.

Unable to find time to explain, Shifu just barked, "Get two gooses and take this young man to the spare room! And tell Crane and the others to report to the Hall of Heroes immediately!"

It was merely a few minutes later when Crane was surprised by the intrusion of the goose, even more so surprised when he told him that Shifu demanded his presence in the Hall of Heroes. Quite confused, the avian made his way to the hall, and as he entered it, he was more surprised to find Po and the others, along with Master Shifu, standing there as if they were waiting for him. It became even more shocking as they were all staring at him with sympathy and sadness…

"Master Crane." Shifu addressed, as his face was grave.

"What is it? Why did you call me, master?" Crane asked, genuinely confused.

"Crane…I'm afraid I have some bad news…" The red panda admitted with sadness.

"Bad news?" The avian repeated.

"Yes. A few minutes ago, a student from Lee Da came into my room on his last legs…" Shifu explained

"Lee-Da?" Crane jumped, recognizing the name of his and Mei Ling's school.

Shifu nodded, "I didn't get much from him, as he almost immediately fainted. But he did give me this letter." He held up a crumpled note.

"Sir, I don't understand. What's going on? Did something bad happen?" The monochromatic bird demanded.

The red panda let out a sigh as he gestured to Po, who stepped forth, "Crane…I think its best that you sit down…"

"What?! Why?!" Crane asked, growing more agitated.

The grandmaster groaned inwardly as he passed the note to Crane, who quickly brought it up to his beak as he began to read it…

_Dear Grandmaster Shifu & Furious Five of the Jade Palace_

_Please forgive this sudden message, but…but something awful happened a few nights ago. As of earlier tonight, the Lee-Da Academy was attacked…by who, I do not know, but he was a beast, a cold-blooded beast! Me, Master Mei Ling, and the students tried to fight him, but he overwhelmed all of us, unable to faze him the least…even I couldn't stop him. Worse so, I would have died if Mei Ling had not saved me…but I was unconscious. When I woke up…I found the entire academy in total disarray, and our grandmaster…Mei Ling…she's gone…I don't know if the beast killed her or not, but she is gone! Please, I beg of you, we need your help to find this monster and bring him to justice!_

_Please…_

_Master Gang of the Lee-Da Academy_

The avian's eyes widen in horror, and his beak dropped in a mechanical fashion as he dropped the letter...

"Crane..." Shifu began, but the avian interrupted him, his shock replaced with anger.

"How did this happen?!" Crane barked, his eyes burning, "Who is responsible for this?!"

"We don't know, Crane." The red panda explained, before adopting a stern glare, "But rest assured, we will find him and Mei Ling. I had already arranged us to meet with the Anvil of Heaven. I pray that they might know more about this monster."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" The bird exclaimed angrily, as he began to walk towards the doors, "Let's find this beast and bring him to justice!"

"Crane..." Po tried to say, as there were more to be said, but Tigress beaten him to it.

"You can't come." The Chinese Tiger stated coldly.

Crane stopped mid-step, as he looked back at Tigress, his face marked with shock and outrage. He asked, trying to keep calm, "What? What did you say?"

Tigress sighed, "You must stay here, Crane."

The avian turned around as he demanded, "Why?! Mei Ling is my friend, and some bastard have her held captive, that's-"

"Why you must stay behind, Master Crane." Shifu finished his sentence, his expression grim, yet sympathetic, "I understand your relationship with Master Mountain Cat, and I find it quite admirable that you are willing to come to her aid...but this situation at hand leaves you emotionally compromised."

"Emotionally what now?" Po asked dumbly, not understanding the word.

"He means that Crane probably won't be able to think clearly." Tigress explained, her expression just as sympathetic, "And if someone is unable to think clearly in battle, it will not end well for them."

"That is completely absurd!" Crane snarled, much to everyone's shock, "You can't possibly expect me to just stand here and do nothing!"

"Crane, please..." Viper tried to soothe, never seeing the bird this upset.

"No!" Crane shook his head, "She...she needs me! I can't just...I can't just..." His anger began to fade as despair took it's place, as he fell to his knees.

"Geez, he's taking it pretty hard..." Mantis quipped to Monkey, who only nodded in agreement.

Crane looked up and faces Shifu, his eyes practically begging him, "Please, master...you have to let me join you..."

Unfortunately, Shifu held firm as he approached the bird and placed his hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Crane...but my decision is final. This is strictly for your safety, Crane." The monochromatic bird merely winced at his rejection, "But I swear, we will find her, and the moment we do, you will be the first to know. Do you understand?"

The crane nodded.

"Good...I think it is best that we all get some rest before heading out tomorrow. So off to bed with all of you..." Shifu ordered, as he walked past Crane and left the hall to return to his chamber.

As soon as he left, the other masters followed suit. When they passed the now-despondent Crane, Tigress, Viper, Monkey, and Mantis merely gave sympathetic glances, while Po whispered, "Sorry, Crane…"

With that, the four masters left the hall, only the crested crane remaining in the vicinity…the bird wanted to let out a loud cry of anguish, but doing that would change nothing…but doing nothing wouldn't help either.

After spending a few minutes in the empty hall, he got up and, doing as his master told, decided to return to his room. It was only a few minutes later that he was walking down the hall of the barracks. Hearing the sounds of light breathing and Po's heavy snoring, Crane figured that they were sleeping, and seeing how late it was getting, he decided he should get some as well, although he highly doubted that he would, especially now...

"_I understand your relationship with Master Mountain Cat, and I find it quite admirable that you are willing to come to her aid...but this situation at hand leaves you emotionally compromised..._" The voice of Shifu echoed in his head.

Emotionally compromised? Of course he would be emotionally compromised; this was his long-lost friend they were talking about! But that should not be any reason to stop him from helping! Crane only growled, he cannot simply stand here and not do anything, Mei Ling was out there in need of his help...but what could he do? He knew no more than the others about where to begin their search for this mysterious beast, and asking around was out of the questions, time was of the essence. Crane sighed, maybe he can find out what to do tomorrow. With that thought said, he went to his door, and was about to open it...when he heard shuffling. The avian looked at where the sound coming from, only to find a pigeon, who was looking at him in surprise.

"Oh...Master Crane, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." Bolin apologized.

"No, it's fine…say, aren't you that pigeon that came from Lee-Da?" Crane asked.

"Yes I am." The pigeon nodded…before continuing, "I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Crane asked, a bit mystified.

"Well…for what happened to Master Mountain Cat. I hadn't been at the academy long, but I heard that you and her were good friends, is that right?"

"That's true." The crested crane nodded, not bothering to say to tell the whole story.

"I see…I also heard that Master Shifu is asking you to stay behind, is that right?" Pidge asked.

"Yes…" Crane bitterly muttered, his glance darkened.

"Well, I am sorry to hear that…but maybe it is for the best," Bolin stated, "I mean, this guy that attacked us, he was a monster…he made Master Tigress look like a kitty cat compared to him."

Crane groaned as he heard more of how powerful this 'monster' was claimed to be.

"I mean, not only did this brute beat us all up and kidnapped the grandmaster…but he also took every bit of metal we had in the academy…"

"Wait, what?" The avian immediately jolted up when he heard the last bit, "What did you say?"

"The brute beat us all up and kidnap-"

"The other part!" Crane nearly shouted, before realizing the others were still asleep.

"He took every bit of metal we had?" Bolin asked, a little frightened by his outburst.

"Metal?" Crane muttered to himself. Thieves raiding places were not unheard of…but why would someone attacked an academy filled with kung fu students and masters and steal something as invaluable as metal? As Crane thought about it, he could only remembered one instance where metal was being looted from villages all over…by wolves working for none other than Lord Shen, in order to forge his cannons…but that was completely absurd! Shen was dead, crushed by his own diabolical invention…there was no way that he could possibly hired this monster to loot metal and kidnap Mei Ling…is there? Crane wanted to deny it…but the more he tried to shake the thought, the possibility became more and more plausible. There was only one man who would have a great need for metal…and _if_ he was alive…then something bad was coming…

Bolin took notice of Crane's pondering expression, "Uh, Master Crane, are you alright?"

Crane snapped out of it, and nodded, "Yes, Bolin. I was just thinking…"

The pigeon gave a small frown, "Did I say something wrong?"

The crested crane looked at the pigeon, as his mind, now with a better understanding of what he was dealing with, came to one conclusion…he had no idea if this was a _good_ conclusion…but he will not simply do _nothing_.

"No…you said exactly what I wanted to hear…" Crane replied…as he suddenly turned around and ran off, leaving the pigeon alone in the hall…

The pigeon simply stood there in confusion as he said to himself, "Why do I have a feeling that I just did something wrong?"

The moon was shining brightly over the valley, illuminating almost everything within it, including a sudden blur that was now flying through the valley, quickly weaving through the village without making so much as a sound. That said blur was a monochromatic crane as he was flying as hard as he can, for a mission and a destination was now etched deep into his mind. He had no idea of what he was getting into, nor of the risks he was taking…but all he did know is that he had to do this…not only to stop this threat…but for someone he cares deeply about…

"Don't worry, Mei Ling…I'm coming…" Crane whispered to himself as he disappeared into the night…

* * *

**A/N: …Eh, again, I'm sorry if this chapter sucked…and I really don't have any idea why I became so disarrayed when writing this chapter. So…again, I apologize, and I hope you guys will forgive me.**

**Voice Cast for OCs (Instead of doing it in the middle of the chapter, I will just post it here.)**

**Bolin – Lee Norris (****_Mouth _****from****_ One Tree Hill_****)**

**_Artworks stuff is appreciated, deeply appreciated._**


	4. Living Under The Hate

**A/N: Okay, guys, it is time for chapter four...and for the entrance of our other hero of the fic...and I am sorry for the long wait.**

**REPLY REPONSES:**

**Master Crane: **Thank you, very much, it's nice coming from you (To the original Master Crane, not Charlie B. Barkin).

**SH: **If this was Synchronized Harmony, thank you. And your question will be answered...eventually.

**jjhatter: **Yes, it is quite a mystery...

**TheEasilyAmusedOne: **Thank you very much, I am trying my best.

**ZaynTiger (Now known as SoCal Psycho Tiger): **Okay, I might consider that advice.

**awesome22: **Thank you.

**AlwaysTomorrow: **Thank you...I don't think I deserve it, but thank you none the less.

**Fan: **Wish granted...sort of.

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda, wished I did, but I don't.**

**I do own the Siberian Tiger and the mysterious character yet to be revealed, as well as Zhou and Loz, and Bolin.**

**Synchronized Harmony owns Aang.**

* * *

Chapter Four: Living Under The Hate

"_What have I become? My sweetest friend. Everyone I know, goes away in the end...and you could have it all, my empire of dirt, I will let you down, I will make you hurt..._"

- Hurt by Johnny Cash

**Earlier that night...**

Far away from the Valley of Peace, and the Lee Da Academy as well, over the craggy mountains, through the scorching desert, and pass the occasional marsh, a thriving metropolis is preparing for the end of the work day, as the sun sets into the horizon. This place was none other than Gongmen City, the trading captial of the province, and once home of the famous peacock rulers Lord Ti'Phan and Lady Mei Lin and their home, The Tower of Sacred Flames...the key term being _was_...

Despite it only being a year, people still remembered how the disgraced prince, Shen, had returned to Gongmen, with his powerful cannons and a army of wolves & gorillas in tow, murdering Thundering Rhino, laying siege to the city, destroying his home, and nearly eradicating Kung Fu...only to be thwarted by the legendary Dragon Warrior. It was a joyous day when Po had rebounded that fateful blast and defeated Shen's fleet, not just because China was saved (that was a good point, however), but he had finally rid the world of the evil peacock (although Po didn't _technically_ rid him). Even before Shen's infamous genocide of the pandas, the city never really held a high opinion of the prince, especially since he was all feathered in white, and believed him to be a curse upon the city. Unfortunately, this was somehow confirmed. Every bad thing that occured during the couirse of Shen's life, ranging from forest fires to diseases breaking out, from bad crop harvests to a simple knee scrape, they had all contributed it to him being a bad omen. They dared not say it to the prince's face of course, but it didn't stop them from acting unfriendly towards him. As far as anyone was concerned, there was only one person who liked Shen, that person being none other than Ama, the soothsayer who took care of him more than his own parents, who they assume had thought the very same thing of Shen. Although they thought Ama to be crazy for caring for the 'living curse', they dared not say it, for they couldn't find the guts to say it to a kind woman such as her.

But either way, all their misgivings about Shen were eventually justified when the peacock had slain the entire village of pandas. When words had finally got out about Shen's crime, the entire city wanted his head on a platter, to finally rid their city and their world of him. However, the decision as to Shen's fate was already decided: he was banished from the city, never to return. At first, the citizens were outraged, saying that the rulers were too merciful with the young peacock's punishment and many had demanded that they reconsider and have him killed, some even threatening to go on a manhunt to kill him themselves...but no one ever did such things. Their anger simply subsided a month or two after the exile and when Ti'Phan and Mei Lin eventually died, they had all but forgotten about Shen...at least, they had...before the whole incident a year back.

Ever since the said events, Gongmen City had been recovering in silence. Repairs had instantly begun, fixing up portions of the city that were destroyed by the cannons. Also, they had to clean up what was left of the Tower of Sacred Flames when it was obliterated by the same weapons that torn up the city, which took up a month or so, and when they finished, arguments broke out as to what were they to do with the grounds. Others said that they should rebuild the tower, to serve as homage to the peacocks that ruled their city, while the others opposed it, refusing to waste efforts on the home of the ones responsible for Shen's creation.

Animosity towards Shen still lingered even after his death, especially towards the wolves, who hadn't been seen around the city since the incident, given how if a wolf, even one who didn't even know Shen, they would be tossed out on their asses before you could say noodles. It did not stop them however from giving the wolves that were killed in the final battle a proper burial, as some of them knew that they were merely following orders of a madman. As for the murderous weapons, any that were found were immediately dismantled and smelted down for parts. Needless to say, recovery was taking a long time, despite the working efforts of Master Croc and Storming Ox, who in lieu of Thundering Rhino's death, had taken upon themselves to lead the road to recovery.

However, there was one question that lingered in everyone's mind ever since that day...what became of Shen's body? There were a thousand witnesses that saw Shen get crushed by his main cannon while fighting the Dragon Warrior...but when people later came out to the broken flagship as a part of cleaning up the city, and removed what of left of the cannon (after being exploded twice, once by the Dragon Warrior, and the second time when it fell on Shen), there was no trace of a dead peacock's corpse to be found. Many speculations arose as to what could had happened, one said that the body could had simply be incinerated by the explosion upon being crushed, another said that it must had fell into the sea, or some disgruntled ne'er do well came and took the body to perform their personal revenge via desecration...no matter what happened, as far as anyone was concerned, Shen was dead, and nothing can change that...until now.

It was growing dark as vendors were closing up their stores to rest for the night, while some of them were trying to get in some last-minute sales before the work day was done. One vendor, a pig, in particular, was busy trying to sell his ware...which was plain bread.

"BREAD! GET YOUR BREAD HERE! WE BAKE 'EM, YOU BUY 'EM!" The pig called out to the street while holding out his bread, not talking to anyone in particular. However, there was no response, as the pig tried again, "BREAD! WE GOT BREAD! END-OF-DAY DEAL! HALF OFF!" Still no response, "75% PERCENT OFF?!" The pig asked awkwardly…but still no one came. He let out a deep sigh…when suddenly…

"CHOW, IS THERE PEOPLE BUYING?!" A loud, hoarse female voice called from above the pig's shop.

The pig, apparently named Chow, only growled as he yelled back, "NO, MA! THERE'S NO ONE HERE!"

"ARE YOU SURE?! HAD YOU TRY CUTTING THE PRICE BY 75% PERCENT?!"

"Oh my gods…" Chow muttered, gripping the bridge of his snout, "YES, MA! BUT NO ONE WANTS TO BUY YOUR STUPID BREAD!"

"WELL, EXCUSE ME, MR. GRUMPY PANTS! IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU ARE A BAD VENDOR!" The mother shouted in reply.

"WELL, I WOULDN'T BE A BAD VENDOR IF YOU WOULD STOP WITH THE YELLING!" Chow retaliated, facing away from the streets, "MAYBE THEN I COULD OPEN UP MY OWN SHOP AND MOVE AWAY FROM YOU!"

"Excuse me…"

"WHAT?!" Chow about-faced…only to immediately mute as he saw someone in front of his shop, "Oh…"

"WHAT'S GOING ON, DOWN THERE?!" The mother screamed.

"NOTHING, MA, IT'S JUST A CUSTOMER!" Chow yelled back, as he turned to face the customer, "Sorry about that, can I help you…er…sir?" The pig trailed off awkwardly, and for a good reason too.

The customer in question was rather peculiar. He was wearing a long black robe, a color not often seen around Gongmen City, made out of some sort of fabric (wool, Chow reckoned), lined with a bit of red at the edges of the opening. However, it was not the odd attire that threw him off…it was rather the ebony-colored ribbon-er-sash…whatever they called them, that was wrapped all around the being's face as well as his long neck, so much in fact that it was hard to discern his face…in fact, the sashes were also wrapped around his hands as well. The only thing that the vendor could make from the customer was that he was a bird, given the being's beak. But there was something…off, about this guy…Chow felt a bit of a chill as he looked at him…especially when he gazed into the customer's eyes, which was red…and there was only one person that remind him of such a color-

"Why don't you draw a picture? It will last longer." The mysterious avian muttered in a raspy voice, rather annoyed.

"Oh, right." Chow said, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, before he recomposed himself, "What would you like tonight?"

The being was silent for a moment, as he examined the kind of pastries he had, before facing Chow once more, "I don't know…they all look awfully tasty…do you possibly have any sago tarts?"

"Sago tarts?" The pig asked, as he looked at his wares, "No…I don't think I have any…"

"Are you sure?" The black-robed being pressed on, "Do you possibly have some in the back?"

Chow looked at him oddly, "I think we might…but are you sure I can't interest you in some pumpernickel?"

"Oh no, I only request the sago tarts…that is if it is not too much trouble." The avian explained.

The pig just sighed, "Fine. Just give me a moment…" With that, the pig ventured towards the back of his shop, hoping to find the sago tarts…however, he was having trouble finding them. He then called upstairs, "HEY, MA! DO YOU KNOW WHERE WE KEEP THE SAGO TARTS?!"

"YES, WHY YOU ASK?!" The mother yelled down.

"THERE IS A WEIRD GUY HERE WHO WANTS SAGO TARTS!" Chow replied.

"WEIRD?! WEIRD-FUNNY OR WEIRD-STRANGE?!"

"DOES IT REALLY MATTER, MA?!" The pig asked, getting a little irritated.

"IT DOES IF THIS GUY IS A SEX CRIMINAL!"

"For crying out loud…" Chow muttered bitterly, as he screamed, "NO ONE WANTS TO DO THAT TO YOU, MA! NOW JUST TELL ME WHERE THE GODS DAMN SAGO TARTS ARE!"

"OKAY, CHOW! THEY ARE IN THE OLD BREAD BASKET!" The mother answered, not daunted by his loud outburst.

"THANK YOU!" Chow nodded as he went further into the shop, and soon, he was backing out with a tray of sago tarts, "Sorry for the wait, sir, but I now have your sago…" He turns around…only to see no one there, "Tarts?"

He peeked his head out and looked both ways down the streets, seeing no sign of the black-robed figure, "Hey, where did he go?"

"CHOW! DID YOU GIVE THE WEIRD MAN HIS TARTS?!"

The pig only growled once more, as he yelled, "NO! HE'S GONE!"

"WHY DID HE LEAVE?!"

"I DON'T KNOW…MAYBE IT'S THE FACT YOU CALLED HIM A SEX CRIMINAL!" Chow screamed as he gripped his head, "Oh, screw my life…"

* * *

Elsewhere, a good distance from the shop, the black-bandaged being was walking along the docks of the city, his eyes darting left and right, as if he was swept up in paranoia, afraid that someone was following him. Soon, the bird arrived at an elevated worn-down shack, abandoned for gods know how long. After looking behind himself and all around him, and making sure that no one saw him, he walked in through the hole where the shack's door once stood.

Inside the shack, it was a mess, as you would normally find in an abandoned shack, for there were broken pieces of wood and glass littered all over the floor and somewhat of a gaping hole where a window was, looking out on the docks and the sea. However, there were also signs of someone living here, as there was a dirty old pillow and a ragged blanket, as well as some leftover food from yesterday. If you put two and two together, you could easily tell that the one who was living here was the black-robed figure, as he reached into his robe and pulled out a loaf of bread, one that he had stolen from the pig's shop while the pig was half looking for his tarts, half arguing with his mother.

"Hmph…the vendors of this city are getting stupider and stupider by the day." The bird muttered, as he set the bread down aside the leftover food, reaching up to the bandages that were wrapped around his face and began unraveling it, revealing a striking shade of white feathers that covered his long neck, all up to his gray beak. The black bandages were off in matter of seconds, as the avian looked into his reflection of what was left of a mirror.

That reflection...showed none other than Lord Shen, the hated and presumed-dead peacock and former prince of Gongmen City.

"Hmph, you are enjoying this, aren't you?" Shen muttered at his reflection, as if that reflection was another being, "It is because of you that we are reduced to this..."

Now, you are all probably wondering...how is it that this peacock is alive...when he was supposedly crushed by his cannon that he had sent upon himself by cutting the ropes during his last bout with Po? It was rather a odd occurence if one thought about it, that had been the resultant of a thing we all called 'luck'...

**Flashback (One year ago)**

_When Shen had heard that deafening crack and saw that cannon was about to crush him, the peacock knew that he was going to die at the hands of his own creation...not that it had mattered either way...for he had already lost everything, as he finally met his defeat because of the warrior of black and white, who had single-handily demolished his army and his cannons...and everyone he knew was gone...his parents, dead, his right-hand man, Wolf Boss, dead, the soothsayer...he couldn't bear to think of her at that moment...there was honestly no point in living at this point...so Shen only closed his eyes to embrace his death as his foe, the panda named 'Po', fled from the hulking mass of broken metal coming down upon him._

_A thousand thoughts ran through Shen's mind, time seeming to slow to a standstill as the shadow of the cannon enveloped him, leaving the peacock a spare amount of time to contemplate what had become of his life...how did his life went so far south from when he was a little boy? Why hadn't anything ever gone right in his life? Why did life itself plot against him of all people? All Shen could say for certain was that this life was a pretty bad one from the start...but now...it would come to an end...death would finally rid him of this accursed body and maybe he could finally be happy..._

_However, there was a major interference with that plan...the floorboards that Shen stood on were weak from the explosion caused by the redirected fire of his cannon, and when the cannon's weight was starting to lean onto the boards, something had to give...something did. _

_***CRACK***_

_In a matter of seconds, the boards broke from under Shen, much to his shock, sending him into the water._

_It took a matter of seconds for Shen to process what had happened, and when he did, he began to struggle, pushing his wings upwards to resurface. Unfortunately, he was never an adept swimmer, and it became more apparent as he felt himself sinking even further._

_Feeling fear taking over, the peacock only struggled more. Then he realized something...his weapons...they were weighing him down. Acting quickly, the peacock shook his wings and tail train rapidly to release all the knives that were in his robes and wedged in his tailfeathers, sending to the bottom of the sea._

_Almost instantly was he rising up to the surface, adrenaline coursing through his system as he rise towards the dim sunlight that flickered in the water...but then suddenly, he heard a loud booming sound. Before Shen could turn to see where the noise came from, he felt a big amount of force blow through him as he is send spiraling through the water, losing all consciousness…_

**Flashback end**

Shen gave a scoff as he picked up the bread that he had pilfered, and without so much as a word, he took a small bite out of it. The peacock gave a sigh as he swallowed the bit of tasteless bread down his throat...he did not know why he try to survive that day, even though he had lost everything…it seemed like the gods had other plans for him…but what? When he came to, he found himself on the opposite shore of a bay, drenched to the bone, but still kicking. Ever since that day, he had been…well, living on the lam, knowing full well that people would want to make sure he was dead.

Although Shen was once a royal man, he had picked up a couple of street smarts from the wolves that served him, and when he was exiled, learning how to survive while everyone hates you became second nature to him. He spent the first couple of weeks keeping on the move around the Gongmen area, avoiding the city and surviving off some of the crops and fruit that grew in the vicinity. Eventually, Shen made his way to a small village that knew nothing about what had happened in Gongmen, where he had the fortune of finding a black ragged robe that he wore now, which was probably thrown out by someone, as well as some black silk bandages. With these items in hand, Shen devised a way to disappear…by donning the black robe and wrapping the bandages around his face and wings, he immediately became unrecognizable.

After a week or so, he returned to Gongmen, donning the disguise, and to his delight, no one pay attention to him…however, it did lead to another problem…what was he to do when the winter season come and the fruit and crops are unavailable to him? The solution was simple: he would have to resort to stealing, which was not a problem for him morally, as he obviously dropped to even bigger lows before.

The problem however, lied in getting away with it…but it was easily solved by the disguise he donned. When winter came in, he began stealing from vendors, and thus a system of his was born. Thanks to his less than appealing outfit, he could easily approach a vendor, without raising a lot of questions, and when the vendor is not looking, he could simply pick something and walk away, and due to the bandages he wore, he would seem like a wounded beggar (which he refuse to lower himself to) and no one would think of approaching him, or even think that he stole food.

However, there were flaws to this system, especially when some vendors begin to catch on to him, and there were times that he would have to make himself scarce. That is when Shen found the shack he was living in. It was remote, abandoned, a place no one would think of looking. It took a few nights or so to make the shack hospitable, but it was not before long that the shack became a home to him.

For the remainder of the year had he been living this way. The life of a thief was not an easy one, but it was the best he could do…given his circumstances.

"Gods…how the mighty had fallen…" Shen whispered to himself, before taking another bite from the bread. The peacock was rather unhappy with what he had been reduced to…but what could he do? It would be useless to try and start over again, for because of his actions a year ago, his name is cursed forever by everyone around him, and changing his name would change nothing, for he was cursed with his white feathers and red eyes, features that only he, to his knowledge, possess.

"Why is it that I continue living in a world where everyone hates me?" He asked himself, rather confused. It was a good question. There were a few times in his teenage life and his time during exile that he had contemplated suicide…but always had he shook the thought, whether out of being distracted by something or because he was simply afraid. His life before the genocide was not bad…but it was not good, especially being born of the white color, and more often than not was he ridiculed for his sickly image by everyone, adults, children, and even his parents seemed to had hated him for it.

It seemed that his life had become a conundrum…he hated living…yet he was afraid of dying. Maybe that was why he swam that day…because he was afraid…or maybe because he really thought that the gods had something planned for him…but what? He looked at the mirror, and asked his reflection, "What do you think? You think the gods wanted me to survive that day?"

His reflection did not answer obviously…but given how he had been on his own for a long time, he often found himself talking to his reflection, as if he was an imaginary friend that looked, talked, and walked like him. It was crazy, Shen would admit, but it seemed to be the only comfort he had in this time. Shen let out a sigh as he then placed his bread near the stack of rations he had and approached the gaping hole in the shack.

The hole had a great view of the Gongmen Bay, as the moon began to shine upon it's clear surface. A sight such as this was one of the silver linings that shone in this bleak life of his, the light giving him a bit of hope that things might get better...Shen gave a small chuckle...what a completely absurd thought that was...there is no way for this life to get better. It was all a part of this path that he was damned to...a path that held nothing but grief and agony...a path of bad luck and misfortune...and namely, a path that always ended in one thing...death...and not the good 'dying with dignity' kind of the death.

Shen let out a deep exhale as he watched the moon rise. Taking that as a sign, Shen was about to turn away and hit the hay...when something on the docks caught his eyes. Looking through the hole closely, but not enough to raise suspicions of any passerbys, he saw a big shadow make it's way across the piers. This shadow in question seemed to look like some sort of cat, a tiger most likely, and a big one at that, even bigger than that one tiger that accompanied the Dragon Warrior a year back...what was her name...Tigress? But yeah, she dwarfed in comparison to this one. Shen however, only gave a small smirk as he _recognized_ this creature...

"Well, well, well...look what the cat dragged in..." Shen mused. This was not the first time the peacock saw this giant being pass through here...in fact, this ought to be...what was it...seventh time he had made his way through here. He had no clue who he was...but judging how shifty eyed the tiger was whenever he passed through the docks, he must be some sort of criminal. Shen even made some guesses as to what kind of crimes he must do, just as a way to pass the time.

All Shen could figure though, in all seriousness, was that the tiger was your run-of-the-mill thug, especially given how muscular the tiger was...not to mention all those _chains_ he lugged around...Shen did not get the point of those, as he watched the chains jingled off the brute's body as he walked quietly along the wooden planks...but something caught his attention, as he noticed that the tiger had a big burlap sack.

"What do you have in the bag..." Shen asked quietly, knowing the tiger could not hear him.

The mysterious thug eventually made his way to a small boat, the same boat that Shen saw the last few times the tiger came through here, as he board it. Coming from inside the boat was a small pig with a raggedy beard, as he frowned upon the sight of the tiger waiting for him, and immediately, the pig began talking. Shen could not hear what he was saying, but he could tell that the pig was not a friend to the tiger...who oddly stood there, silent as stone, not seeming to listen to a word the pig said...if he wasn't so curious as to what was in the bag, he would have found the scene amusing.

Apparently, the pig was just as curious as him, as he started gesturing to the bag the tiger hold. For the first time, he saw the tiger register an emotion, as he defensively held the sack away from the old pig, but the pig seemed to insist...

"I don't think that is a wise idea, pig..." The peacock sagely remarked.

The pig began to babble on about something, obviously wanting to know the contents of the bag, while the tiger seemed to be...grunting? Does that beast say anything at all? The argument was getitng heated, as the pig, despite being as tall as the tiger's knee, tried to get a closer look at the back, causing the tiger to step back instantly, letting out a growl, as the shift in the bag's weight caused the knot around the bag to loosen...revealing a tail.

Shen's eyes widen in shock as well as the pig, as the swine began to inquire nervously what was in the bag (as far as Shen could see), but the tiger simply stuff the tail back into the back and tied the knot again, causing the pig to grow angry, seemingly wanting no part in what was the tiger doing...but to Shen's horror, the tiger immediately grabbed the pig by the neck and held him up to the night sky, as the pig was now beyond all reason horrified.

Shen did not know what to do...if he did nothing, that tiger might kill the poor pig...but he would have no chance of defeating the tiger, even if he had his knives and spear with him, both of which are probably at the bottom of the bay right now...and even if he beat the tiger, the pig would easily recognize him, and he would be in bigger sh-

His thought was interrupted when he accidentally knock a board of wood against a nearby window, causing it to shatter immediately, making a loud shattering sound. Shen hitched his breath in terror as the tiger immediately turned towards the shack, prompting the peacock to duck, cursing under his breath.

"_Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap..._" Shen stammered in his thought, as he slowly craned his neck to peek out the window, praying that the tiger wasn't coming towards him. Fortunately, the tiger was only looking towards his direction, but not moving from his spot, ignoring the grunts of the pig as he tried to break free. After a few seconds, the gray-furred tiger lost interest and turned his attention to his captive. With a grunt, he released the pig, causing the pig to land on the deck with a thud, as the bearded swine gasped for air, looking at the bigger brute with fear, while scampering off into his boat. Shen only gave a deep sigh of relief as he saw the boat beginning to leave the harbor...

"That was too close..." Shen whispered to himself, as he got back up, and watched the boat as it disappeared into the darkness.

The peacock became more concerned as to what it was he just witnessed. It was no doubt in his mind that the tiger was up to something rather nefarious...but...if he didn't know any better...he just witnessed a thug making off with a body...but of whom? And where was that thug going? Shen only groaned inwardly, gripping the bridge of his beak, these questions were meaningless to him; what could he do about it? He couldn't simply go to the authorites, let alone those dolts Croc and Ox, who would have him killed on sight. Furthermore...it was not his problem. What was it to him that a potential murderer was dumping a body? Why would he give a-

A yawn escaped Shen's beak before he could finish that thought. Gods, was it really getting that late? The peacock only grunted to himself, it was pointless to stay awake mulling over this, and he had another day of 'surviving' tomorrow, so he gave one last look out the window before he walked to the other side of the room, where a somewhat comfy pillow and a ragged blanket lied. The white-feathered avian gave a deep sigh as he settled down into his sleeping spot, curling up his body into a ball, with his tail train lying next to his head, while Shen pulled the blanket over almost his entire body, leaving only his long neck bare, as the avian tried to slip into the grasp of sleep...

But sleep did not come...as it usually never did for the peacock. Sleeplessness had been a burden on the peacock for as long as he could remember, especially over these last few months. Shen only growled to himself as he tossed and turned, wanting to enter the land of slumber...but even there he was not welcomed. Shen only laid on his back, only letting out a defeated sigh.

"Dammit...is it already bad enough that my life had become a living hell? Must you make it worse by denying me sleep?!" Shen snarled to the air.

Despite there only being him, the peacock's expression soften, as if someone answered his question, as he bitterly whispered to himself..."Hmph...must you remind me of that night?" No answer, "Well, there's no need to remind me...I could never forget the worst night of my living existence...never..." Silence continued...as Shen let out a laugh... "Heh, to think that it all went downhill because of that damn prophecy..."

Shen's smirk immediately faded as he remembered the prophecy...

"_The peacock, if he is to continue down his path of darkness, shall be defeated by a warrior of black and white._"

That one prophecy...that one damn sentence...those twenty-two words...was all it took to seal his fate...what was the point of it? He knew that he committed mass murder...but he was justified...wasn't he? He needed to prove that he was worthy of carrying on their legacy! That he was not the weak sickly child who suffers full-blown pneumonia when in the rain for a few seconds! He wanted to make them proud! But in the end...no matter what his intentions was...he was exiled...

He himself should had known that no matter what he had done, his parents would never let him become the next ruler...all because of this _wretched_ color he was cursed with. And what good did this genocide do for him anyway? One panda...one damn stinking _panda_ he failed to kill, and he goes off to defeat him, thus leading him back to his first conclusion that life conspired against him...for he tried so hard...and got so far...and he had lost it all...but in the end...it didn't matter...he lost everything...only to be defeated...

The peacock only let out a grunt as he turned his head in his pillow, feeling a hurtful knot in his stomach. There was one thing that made this whole situation an complete irony, a cruel joke that was all too real...all of it was caused by _her_...that _old goat_...the soothsayer...it was her who had made that prophecy that set off the chains of events that would lead him here...sure, it was his parents that asked her to tell it, but that because they thought worse of him...as usual...but to hear the soothsayer say that ill-fated prophecy...Shen could not help but feel betrayed.

It was without question that Shen cared deeply for the elderly goat...despite how arrogant of a bastard he was to her a year back. For so long, she was all that he had for the longest time, the one who cared for him instead of his parents...and deep down, he was grateful to her...but where he was now...it was all her fault. Had she not told the prophecy...he would have never done that unforgivable act, and he would have never been banished...he thought that she loved him...but then why would she tell a prophecy foretelling his defeat? Did she wanted him to meet his end, like his parents did? Was everything she done for him...was it all a lie? Did she never loved him at all?

Shen only grunted in frustration...here he was, a brilliant mind...

Baffled by such questions...

Maybe it would did him well to just put these questions in the back of his mind and get some rest...

Yes...rest...

It would do him no good to ponder these questions...

As far as he concerned, the soothsayer was gone...

And he doubt she of all people would want to talk to him...

Shen's eyes grew heavy...oh, what he wouldn't give to change his life for the better

...only if he had a chance...

With that last thought...the disgraced prince fell into slumber...only to prepare for the next day of living in shame and under the hateful gazes of the people who loathed his existence for all time...yes, he was trapped in this perpetual cycle of agony...and it would not be before long that this path leads him to his demise...and these questions would go forever unanswered...

But little does he know...that his fate is about to change...

* * *

**A/N: *Sweatdrop* Eh, dammit all to hell, it seems like I am losing my edge in writing. What do you guys think? I am glad that I finished a chapter reintroducing Shen, my all-time favorite character...but I cannot feel that this chapter...seemed to lack. I am sorry for the wait, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, you get a cookie if you can tell me who Chow and his mother reminds you of...anyway, READ AND REVIEW!**

_**Artworks stuff is appreciated, deeply appreciated.**_


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